You always hear about how busy people are these days and I suppose it’s true. But really, how much time do we lose each day? I would guesstimate that I lose at least 2 hours everyday.
How did I come to that figure?
- Driving to work: 40 minutes
- Showering: 20 minutes
- Waiting in queues: 5 minutes
- On hold on the phone: 5 minutes
- Shopping: 20 minutes
- Driving home from work: 40 minutes
- Cooking dinner: 30 minutes
- Exercising: 30 minutes
OK, so 3 hours everyday, not 2… And that’s just off the top of my head!
Imagine if you could utilise that time to add to your daily study time. Well, it’s not that hard to imagine. In fact, it’s pretty easy.
I already suggested to take advantage of reading in queues, while on hold, waiting for the kettle to boil or during TV ad-breaks. Of course, you might not be concerned about the ad-breaks if you just watched TV in your target language.
Where else can you find time and what can you do?
If you drive or catch a bus or train, that’s premium listening time. I installed an iPod compatible stereo in my car just so I could listen to language material… actually, I went as far as buying a second iPod so I didn’t even have to inconvenience myself with leaning over to unplug it and put it in my pocket.
Shopping and exercising are also great for getting in some listening time. When shopping or doing general cardio exercises I sometimes do verbal drills – only not speaking aloud, just in my head. I don’t really want to scare aware the staff or receive medical attention for babbling in an alien tongue. But if you exercise in a park or somewhere public, then there’s nothing stopping you from babbling away if you’re not too self-concious or worried about people pointing at you.
Take a shower? Listen to some music in your target language… or be boring and listen to your dialogues… even do some drill work. But “doing drill work in the shower” doesn’t really have the same ring to it as the whole singing thing.
While we’re in the bathroom.. throw the newspaper away and read your Teach Yourself while on the throne. Simple.
And we all eat right? Well, listen to whatever you want while cooking or be a little adventurous and take the opportunity to learn how to cook… by reading recipes in your target language. You not only get exposed to food and kitchen vocabulary but some procedural writing skills as well. And on top of that, the food always tastes better than a translated recipe for some reason.
So there you go… a few basic ideas on how to make the most of your day. If you’ve got some more, please post them in the comments and they’ll maybe even get a mention here.
