Work. Friends. Children. Household. Sleep. Relaxation time. Most of us have quite enough activities to fill our schedule. No wonder that "no time" is a major reason for not starting to learn a new language.
This article offers three pointers that can help you free up time for learning a language.
Pointer #1 Time is priority
A day only has 24 hours, of which we'll spend about 7 hours sleeping. So our time is limited, and I would argue that it needs to be budgeted just like money. It is impossible to do everything, but we can choose what interest we want to pursue and free up time for them.
Keep a log for a few days and see what you are doing each of your waking hours on the day. Most of us will be committed to work for most of the day, but how much time are you spending watching TV or checking Facebook? What are you doing on the way to work, or on the way home? Is there anywhere you can save time, e.g. by not working as late or by hiring someone to clean your house and iron your clothes, rather than doing it yourself?
Saying "no" to your boss can be a huge time saver. Recently a friend conceded that her boss often calls her during weekends. She used to pick up, with the result that even on weekends, she is often working on "urgent" assignments. Recently she has resorted to not taking his calls during weekends, thus freeing up loads of time. Obviously, this is as much a career choice as it is a lifestyle choice.
Everyone's situation is different, so if you look critically at the time you spend, you may come to the conclusion that you want to keep everything as it is and between all the things you are doing, there is no time available to learn a new language. If that is the case, be honest to yourself and do not try to squeeze your language study in somewhere. It will leave you stressed and you probably will not be able to keep it up anyway. A few years down the road, your situation may be different, and then you may even be able to spend a few months learning full-time.
Pointer #2 Commitment and rhythm
If you do find time to learn a language, make a commitment to learning. Whether you are joining a class, have your own private teacher, or are learning all by yourself, try to commit to a schedule. Progress in languages comes only if learning is a long term commitment. I would say 2 hours, twice weekly is the minimum to see yourself progressing enough to keep your motivation up, although this varies from person to person.
If you cannot commit to any type of regular learning, forget about learning the language for a while. You'll just get frustrated if you try to learn every "now and then".
Pointer #3 Flexible methods
If your schedule is irregular, you still have a number of options. You can listen to podcasts on the bus, train, taxi or in your car.
Some people, myself included, really need a teacher to progress. The most flexible way of engaging a teacher is through one-to-one language lessons. You can still appoint a regular schedule with your teacher, but if you should miss one lesson, at least you will not be coming back to a class that has gone further. So you can continue where you left your learning last time without the stress of needing to catch up.
Conclusion
While most of us have busy schedules, I hope this article has encouraged you to make time to learn the language you always wanted to learn. Choose to commit to learning and find out a schedule that works for you, and you can really make progress!
A Dutchman currently living in Singapore, Guus has so far studied 7 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Ancient Greek, Latin and Mandarin). He is passionate about travel, culture, languages and learning.
He founded Yago Singapore, a company that lets people in Singapore find and book Singapore's best language courses online.
Guus regularly shares his insights about language learning on his blog: http://blog.yago.sg.
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