The Time-management thread

[Ccaesar]

Dear everyone I did use the search function first and found threads related to illness, depression and language learning and various topics considering using one language as a ladder to a third language.
However, I think we could all profit from having a thread that is SOLELY dedicated to how you go about managing your time with examples. Do you reward yourself?

I suggest the following:
When you're in a habit: How do you plan? How do you execute and adjust?
When you're out of the habit due to illness/vacations etc: How do you keep up the routine or rather how do you get back to it?

Try to add a reply with: Basing your reply on a "When, how and if" mindset.

[Iversen]

Usually I don't plan ahead, except that I try to do a little of everything in any sizable time period ... except when I'm travelling, where I don't have access to my library and rarely to the internet, which prevents me from doing a little of everything. But sometimes I define a 'project' or 'campaign', and then I definitely plan ahead, and I may even do quantitive assessments of my results (but not of my time expenditure). The last such project was my history of Western classical music in the relevant languages in my log thread, where I definitely planned ahead and to a large extent managed to follow the plan.

[Ccaesar]

Thank you very much for that reply, Iversen! I too find that it can be really tough sticking to the plan when unforseen events happen or something like a vacation or illness kicks in and you have to use energy on getting back on track.

[PeterMollenburg]

Disclaimer: I have duplicated this message in my own language log

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I do plan. I plan to study at my desk every morning, early. It's the best time for me to apply myself to courses.

However I rarely get through the target of 3 hours of 'desk study' which is usually composed of working through courses, or intensive reading nowadays.

I also aim to read a little to my kids each day rotating between French and Dutch, but it doesn't happen every day, more like every second. Sometimes it might only be ten minutes, other times two hours, but the average might be 45 minutes. While I'm doing this my wife goes and studies some French (this year she's trying to make the effort to active her French passive knowledge and push her French skills beyond what she picks up with me speaking to the kids).

If I don't get through my desk (course) study time because i have to work early or there are other interruptions, I have contingency plans to squeeze languages in throughout my day.

Examples I can think of that I regularly use (this is how I manage to clock up a good amount of learning each month despite my busy routine):

Exercise:
*Riding my bike - headphones on, language audio.
*Kayaking (flat water), waterproof headphones.
*A random walk (eg dropping car off for service & walking home) - headphones on, language audio.

With the kids:
*Kids learning - French acitivity books for children learning to read, write and use numbers (and now Dutch, but not yet used)
*In the car with the kids without my wife - Sometimes disney audio books, maybe a podcast for kids, not always (I'll follow along too)
*Driving longer distances with all the family - some audio books, but often with audio faded to back of car so I can actually talk to my wife or perhaps I'll listen in too (the kids sometimes will watch movies on ipad in car also).
*Reading stories regularly - either in morning if i'm working the afternoon or evening before bed (books bought from websites online eg. fnac.com bol.com, borrowed from the Alliance Francaise or magazines on subscription arriving in the mail)
*Once reading over and time for kids to sleep (lights out), i'll sometimes read on my phone on low light or listen to something while kids are in 'go to sleep (and be quiet) mode', but generally read or look at vocab lists as preference.
*Speaking with the kids (target languages only - mostly French, now Dutch being introduced)
*Watching some TV at home (target languages only), I'll join in whenever available time allows.
*French (sometimes Dutch or Norwegian) music

You see having kids can be beneficial to your language learning journey despite one having less time to oneself!

Housework:
*Hanging washing out on my own - language audio of some kind (podcast, audio based course)
*Cooking on my own - language audio of some kind (podcast, audio based course)
*Cooking with the kids present - a podcast for the kids if they are paying attention, audio for me if they're not engaging with me or the audio.
*Putting dishes away, other such kitchen tasks - language audio of some kind (podcast, audio based course)
*Folding washing on my own - language audio of some kind (podcast, audio based course)
*Folding washing with kids around - while a TV show in French or Dutch (maybe even Norwegian) is on for the kids

Work related:
*Driving to and from work - language audio of some kind (podcast, audio based course, less frequently - music)
*At work waiting to pass security (no mobile phones allowed) - paperback magazines in my bag
*At work in stolen moments - on PC access files online on Dropbox or other downloaded content to review a course, read in my target language(s), read a website, or get the novel out or a French learning mag of which I have a couple in my bag

Evening laziness or 'course/routine rejection mode (when I've worked a morning shift and can't drag myself to study at my desk).
*TV time rules - better to do this than not study at all - usually watch my own thing, but sometimes sync same show as my wife is watching the TV and i use my mobile (while I watch the TV with her) but have the audio on my mobile set to French
*read a book

On Holiday
*a good paperback (I'll take one or two with me, or find a couple like I did once -in French- on a bench at a bus stop not in France!)
*some course work if I feel like it
*reading to the kids (usually take some reading material)
*reading on the plane on phone or paperback
*movies/children's series here and there with the kids
*series in the evenings after kids asleep

Other:
*In the shower - often utilise a bluetooth speaker and listen to audio courses
*Eating breakfast on my own (not that often nowadays) - watch the news in one of my target languages.
*Waiting around (at the doctor's, some other appointment) - access language programs, something for intensive reading or extensive reading (websites, digital books)
*multilingual instruction manuals, multilingual product labels etc
*searching information online - mostly in French (estimate 75% French, 25% English).
*random Dutch or French people in life (eg phone calls to bol.com recently, I even used my less than perfect Dutch to resolve a book order issue recently, the rare French speaking patient or even rarer French speaking nurse or doctor- speaking opportunities).
*Websites that have other language options, my phone's operating system, my computer's operating system, computer programs with other languages - switch them all
*Google maps, itunes accounts, VPNs - all these can be utilised so your'e swimming in your target language(s), as I do.
*Social media - not for me. I find it too distracting, too interfering in what I'm focusing on and I don't like to engage it in from a political standpoint.

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Languages have become such routine in my life, that were I to cut down I could never eliminate them, I don't think without serious disruption to my mental well-being and my children's routine, there's too much dependent upon it now - reading to the kids, watching TV series, it's just too hard to avoid now even if I got lazy with/ran out of time to do my courses.

[Ccaesar]

Thank you for an informative, detailed and very interesting entry to the topic, Peter!

[devilyoudont]

When you're in a habit: How do you plan? How do you execute and adjust?

My habits are generally pretty loose. I track my progress using my (hopefully weekly) log here, and with the app Habitica. But my habit is only "Study Japanese every night." I have daily habits organized by priority in Habitica, and Japanese is my number 2 or 3 priority every day depending on day of the week.

However I don't specify an activity. So if I have a lot of energy, I attempt something more challenging, and if I don't have very much energy, I set a timer and do only 20 minutes, or do a very easy passive activity.

Separate from this habit, I generally spend about an hour a day on listening. I listen to a lot of podcasts, so I slip short Japanese podcasts in between every podcast I listen to in my native language. The short length allows me to focus on the material without starting to space out due to lack of visuals, and spacing it out with English prevents me from burning out and quitting listening for several weeks at a time. 5 minutes at a time adds up over the course of the day. I also never stop myself if I have a free moment and want to engage with Japanese at some other time. Wondering what's going on in Japan on my break? I just scroll thru some headlines. I also allow myself to read about Japanese grammar in English if I feel curious. I don't track this stuff super closely at the moment.

If I have already done some Japanese study as part of my Habitica habit, and I still want to do something language-y, but not Japanese, I allow myself to engage in some Wanderlust.

When you're out of the habit due to illness/vacations etc: How do you keep up the routine or rather how do you get back to it?

I still wind up engaging with Japanese almost every day regardless, but I end up missing my nightly study habit when this happens sometimes.

If the disruption is due to something planned like: A vacation, An expected spike in over time, etc etc. I set a realistic goal for myself about when I can get back to my habit (usually giving myself at least 1 "recovery" day between recommitting to the habit and the end of whatever took me away from the habit)

If the disruption is unplanned due to something like an illness... I allow things to run their course, but when I feel that things have "turned a corner" I set a tentative date to return to normalcy. However, if the tentative date does not work out, I don't think about it or bother myself about it. I simply set a new date.

If a habit has truly collapsed and I can no longer maintain it after the break, I start over again using a "Tiny Habits"esque approach. I try to be completely honest with myself about this, so that I can rebuilt the habit as quickly as possible.

[TeoLanguages]

I'm currently spending much of my time on reaching C1 in English and unfortunately, I spend too little time maintaining other languages, which are Spanish (around B2), German (around B1) and French (around B1). All that said, that's my weekly schedule at the moment:

From Monday to Friday:
-1 hour devoted to vocabulary acquisition (by reading articles, by doing exercises of my practice book)
-1 hour devoted to exam-related activities (I'd like to take the CAE)
-30 minutes devoted to reviewing
-2 hours devoted to listening and reading activities (I make it pleasant --> I watch a movie)

Saturday and Sunday:
- 1 or 2 hours daily devoted to (other) languages maintenance (by chatting, reading, watching movies or videos)

[amalhassan]

As a business owner, planning the workflow process is very important, so yes, I plan daily tasks for me and my employees. Here is a list of task management apps that might help in planning

nTask - it's an easy-to-use app where you can assign tasks to different team members. It has a great interface where you can see progress, team members, and deadlines.

BaseCamp - it's a simple task management tool that you can use to manage tasks of multiple projects simultaneously.

Trello - It's one of the most popular task management tools with a great interface and easy-to-use functions.

[alcarazesco]

I don't plan language learning; it happens from daily interaction, even if it's just 30 minutes. One caveat is the effort I put into grammar study. After the umpteenth "what does that conjunction mean again?" I decided enough was enough. I grabbed the thickest, most comprehensive French grammar book in the library and spent 8 hours to work through it, skimming concepts I already knew. The effort was worth it. In a word, extreme grammar study made my progress more manageable. I wrote down concepts I hadn't known, and I review them regularly.

Ever since that weekend, it's been smooth(er) sailing. If I fail to understand something now, it's for lack of vocabulary and idiomatic expression, and not grammar. So I squeeze in language activities whenever I can, like on my walks to the grocery store or time in between lectures. Those language activities include reading short news articles or books with parallel texts and listening to news broadcasts. The only routine-like quality is meeting with exchange partners on the weekend.

Don't despair if you're out sick or on vacation. You might forget some words here and there, but once you're able, carry on like nothing happened. In those cases, I review my old notes to jog my memory.

[Saudalmansour]

As a business owner, planning the workflow process is very important, so yes, I plan daily tasks for me and my employees. Here is a list of task management apps that might help in planning

nTask - it's an easy-to-use app where you can assign tasks to different team members. It has a great interface where you can see progress, team members, and deadlines.

BaseCamp - it's a simple task management tool that you can use to manage tasks of multiple projects simultaneously.

Trello - It's one of the most popular task management tools with a great interface and easy-to-use functions.

For task management, I'm also working with Trello. I used it most for work, assigning tasks in blocks for my workers, and they see it pretty intuitive. Moved from Asana to it, and all are delighted with the choice. I also use it for my personal routine, where I note upcoming meetings, English classes + homework for them, and grocery lists.

Besides tasks, don't forget about time management, which is really important in managing a business. I integrated this employee performance tracking software into my company, and I can track how much time workers spend on their tasks. Weekly, it sends me productivity and efficiency reports, and based on these results, I refine the workflow process and task assignment to each member.