You don't need to use mnemonics to study using Heisig. The ordering is the most important part. e.g. you first learn 口　(mouth) and then 言 (say, word), then in the next chapter it could teach 売 (sell), before finally putting them together to form 読 (read). Since you should already know both sides to 読 it is much easier to learn. Likewise, Genki teaches 時 (time, hour) as soon as it introduces Kanji, as it is a common character. However, there's a lot going on in that Kanji, which makes it difficult for a beginner. Instead RTK teaches 日(day), 士(ground, soil), and 寸 (drop, measure). It will then cover　寺 (temple) before later introducing 時, since you already know every component it becomes easy! After the first 200 cards I stopped bothering with the mnemonics as -- like yourself -- I found them to be a hindrance. As Matt says, Anki is brilliant. So is koohii.com if you struggle with intalling Anki.

There is no way to learn kanji without a lot of work. If you want to succeed, you need to break down the 2000 common-use kanji into smaller groups, amounts you will work on each day. Heisig's RTK is really worth looking at, and forces you to not only reinforce each kanji with a vivid image or story, but also as a result memorize every line of the kanji as parts of smaller primitives. Even better, users of the Anki spaced-repetition flashcard system have already provided free RTK decks. No work needed! You can even click on the name of the flashcard within the Anki system to get a link to user-created stories (some which are easier to remember than Heisig's). But honestly, *no matter what you do to learn Kanji, you must plan it out and break it into smaller, specific, achievable problems*. This is true of any large project you take on in your life. For example, I am learning 20 kanji a day through RTK and expect to finish in about 100 days. This makes it a much more bearable problem than working through 2000 kanji.

If you have an iphone or ipad get the app Midori, just great! If not try with flashcards through internet, that's the best way :)

Everyone learns differently; do whatever works best for you. If you don't know what works best for you, try different things. I learned (and I am still learning) Kanji by learning the radicals and their meaning; that's because I can remember structural relationships best. Otherwise, rote learning (Anki), and reading actual texts. The important thing is too keep at it and do a little every day, no matter which method you use.

My language partner is learning Kanji using person's name. I don't know it is a good way or not but I think it is an interesting way. For example Family Name: Yamada First name:Hanako Kanji:山田花子 山　can be read "yama,san,zan" Other name with　山　：山本yamamoto)、山崎(yamazaki)、山下(yamasita)　etc so many