smallwhite wrote:Now I feel like an idiot.
Don't feel like that! Small actions lead to big changes. Houses are built layer by layer. There are many things which can affect our studies. In positive and negative ways. For instance, I'm not happy when the phone interrupts me when I'm doing timed sessions on Duolingo.
For about ten years, I've tracked my studies in a spreadsheet (first presented by Alexander Arguelles). Non-language learners probably don't understand why, and there's a chance that also some language learners don't see the point. I just use it to get a feel for how much I've done in the languages, and what type of activity it is. In Arguelles' original explanation, he didn't even separate listening from reading. All was tracked in the "Narrative" column. "Analysis" covered grammar exercises etc. Anything that doesn't fit the other categories is what I put here, and that includes translating, FSI lessons, podcast lessons, doing Anki reps, and much more. If I do something during dead time, then that's dead time. I can't track reviewing nine words of Finnish. I used to track Duolingo when I did focused sessions there, 15 minutes per language. Nowadays, I don't track any of that although I sometimes spend an hour there.
Now that I think of it, I've had Anki open for the past hour. When I check it, it says that I've reviewed words for 4 minutes. I probably have. The bunch of Czech words from yesterday, and some in Esperanto. Dead time it is.
What does this mean? If something is important to you - by all means, keep track of it. The level of importance changes over time. I don't track if I'm watching a movie in English, but if it's an audio-book, I might.
I just came to think of something I read about Phil Maffetone. Apparently there was a number of ways to calculate optimal heart rate for low endurance training. He came up with a simple formula: 180-your age. Looks fine to me.
If I now spend a little more "administrative" time on Anki, there will be days when I spend a little less time. It will all even out.