For many adult language learners, time is an issue. With work, family and other responsibilities, it becomes difficult to devote as much time as you want to studying a new language.
As such, it’s important to use whatever time you have efficiently. Even if all you have to spare is half an hour each day, you can spend it such that you maximize the value you derive from your efforts.
To ensure the best use of my study time, I always work with a clock that counts down from 30 minutes. That’s, basically, the time I devote to my lessons every time I sit down with my language software (or with a secondary language material for practice). It doesn’t just count down, too — I set it up so that it creates a quick beep every three minutes to keep me on point.
See, when I sit down for my language software lessons in front of a computer, I find it hard to keep distractions at bay. It’s so easy to put the lesson on pause, launch Facebook and waste the 30 minutes I’m supposed to be studying. With the timer, however, I’m able to avoid it. The sound of that beep is like a kick in the noggin, telling me to get back to what I’m supposed to be doing.
If you find yourself in need of a way to keep from being distracted, I highly recommend trying to use a timer to stay on schedule. It just might work as well for you as it does for me.
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