Learn Hardcore Japanese: yotei doori ni susumanai noni, kare ha otituite ganbatte iru. - Even though things aren’t going as planned, he’s staying calm and doing his best.

のに means “even though/although,” with a stronger sense of “contrary to expectation” and often a hint of frustration or surprise.
けど/が also mean “but/though,” but are milder and more neutral.
In this sentence, のに emphasizes the unexpected contrast between the plan not progressing and his calm effort.

Why is there a に after 予定通り? Is it optional?

通りに means “in accordance with/as per.” The に marks manner.
With X通り(に), the に is often optional: both 予定通り進む and 予定通りに進む are common. With or without に is fine here.

How do you read 通り in 予定通り and why is it pronounced “どおり”?

Is 予定通りに進まない natural? How does it compare to 予定どおりにいかない?

Both are natural but nuance differs:
- 予定通りに進まない highlights “progress isn’t advancing as scheduled.”
- 予定どおりにいかない is a very common idiom meaning “things aren’t going as planned.”
In project/work contexts, both sound normal; choose based on whether you want to stress “progress” (進む) or overall outcome/process (いく).

What’s the difference between 進まない, 進んでいない, and 進めない?

進まない: “doesn’t/isn’t progressing” (intransitive, general or ongoing).
進んでいない: “has not progressed/is not in a progressed state” (focus on current result state).
進めない: “cannot advance (it)” (transitive potential; implies inability to push it forward).

Why is it 彼は and not 彼が?

は marks the topic and often adds a contrastive nuance: “he, for his part…”
が would mark him as the specific subject/new info or emphasize “it’s he (not someone else).”
Here, 彼は fits the contrast with the preceding clause introduced by のに.

What is 落ち着いて doing here? Why not 落ち着いている?

落ち着いて is the te-form used adverbially, modifying how he is working: “he is working hard calmly.”
落ち着いている would state his calmness as a separate ongoing state (“he is calm”), not the manner of the action.
You could say 落ち着いていて、頑張っている, but the original more tightly links calmness to the act of trying.

What nuance does 頑張っている have? Is it “right now” or “habitual”?

Vている can be progressive (“is currently doing”) or continuous/habitual (“has been doing/is in the middle of sustained effort”).
Here it likely means he is steadily putting in effort over the period, not just at a single moment.

Can I make this sentence polite or more formal?

Polite: 予定どおりに進まないのに、彼は落ち着いて頑張っています。
More formal/businesslike: 予定どおりに進んでいないものの、彼は冷静に対応しています。 (uses ものの and 冷静に for a formal tone)

Can のに attach to nouns or na-adjectives? Do I need なのに?

Yes. With nouns/na-adjectives, use なのに.
- Examples: 子どもなのに (“even though [he’s] a child”), 便利なのに (“even though it’s convenient”).
With verbs/i-adjectives, use のに directly: 寒いのに, 行くのに.

Does のに always imply frustration?

Not always, but it often carries a feeling of surprise, dissatisfaction, or regret.
In neutral third-person narration, it can be fairly matter-of-fact; tone depends on context and delivery.

What’s the difference between X通り(に) after a verb clause vs after a noun?

After a verb/clause: V-plain + とおり(に) → “as [someone] V-ed/as V” (e.g., 言ったとおりに).
After a noun: N(の)通り(に) or N通り(に) → “as per N” (e.g., 予定のとおりに / 予定どおりに).
The meaning is “in accordance with” in both; form depends on what precedes.

Can I swap the clause order?

Yes, but the focus changes.
- Original: 予定どおりに進まないのに、彼は落ち着いて頑張っている。 → “Even though things aren’t going as planned, he’s calm and trying.”
- Swapped: 彼は落ち着いて頑張っているのに、予定どおりに進まない。 → “Even though he’s calm and trying, it still isn’t going as planned.”
Choose based on what you want to highlight as the “despite” part.

Does 落ち着いて look like the command “Calm down!” here?

Alone, 落ち着いて！ can be an imperative. Here it’s immediately followed by 頑張っている, so it’s clearly the adverbial te-form (“calmly”), not a command.

Is using 彼 natural? Should I omit the subject?

Japanese often omits pronouns when context is clear. You could say: 予定どおりに進まないのに、落ち着いて頑張っている。
彼 is fine if you need to disambiguate or if “he” was just introduced.

Why are there spaces between words? How would it normally be written?

What happens if I say 予定通りには進まない?

Adding は after に gives a contrastive emphasis: “at least with respect to the plan, it isn’t progressing that way.”
It strengthens the sense of “not as planned (though perhaps in some other way it is).”

Any natural alternatives or synonyms in this sentence?

For “as planned”: 予定どおり, 計画どおり, 当初の予定どおり.
For “not going well”: うまくいかない, 予定どおりにいかない.
For “calmly”: 冷静に (slightly more formal) instead of 落ち着いて.
For “頑張っている”: 努力している, 尽力している, 粘り強く取り組んでいる (more formal/nuanced choices).