“I want to learn English but I don’t have time!”

How to manage your time so you can fit English into your life

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Hello!

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about time management. This is partly because I’m not very good at it myself and know I need to work on it! It’s also because I know some learners find it difficult to make time for English.

I think there are two groups of people who say they haven’t got time for English.

The first group is people who really truly don’t have time! If you have a full-time job and small children to look after at home, then I believe you when you say you don’t have time for English. Or even if you do have time, perhaps after the children have gone to bed, you’re exhausted and you have no motivation or energy left for anything! I do understand!

The second group is people like me! I say I haven’t got time for languages but, if I’m really honest with myself, it would be more accurate to say I’m not good at making the time. I have time for TV and puzzles so is it really true that I don’t have time to learn French and German?! If I really wanted to, and if I tried harder, I could probably make the time!

So which group are you in?! Be honest!

Let me give you some time management tips. They might help both groups I just mentioned but especially the second group!

They are not specifically about English but if you get this right in other parts of your life, you’ll have more time for English.

1. Use a calendar or diary, either an old-fashioned paper one or use your phone. Write down important things you have to remember. You can also use your calendar to plan your day. Don’t forget to schedule exercise, relaxation and study time.

2. Make a list of things you need to do and cross them off when you’ve done them. This helps you to stay organised and motivated. Sometimes I make a list in the morning. Sometimes I make my list the evening before.

3. Prioritise. Decide which things on your list are most important and do them first. Then it doesn’t matter too much if some things are left until the next day.

4. Or you could decide which task is the most difficult and do that one first! Then the rest of the day feels easy and you’re more likely to be productive! Eat the frog!

5. Have a routine. For example, I go shopping on a Wednesday. Without a routine, I waste time thinking about how much I don’t want to go shopping! With a routine, I just go because it’s Wednesday.

6. Manage your sleep routine. If you go to bed and get up at a specific time every day, you have more energy and you can get more done with your time.

7. Work out which times of day you have the most energy. Do the tasks which require more brain power at those times, and do the easy tasks when you have less energy.

8. When do you have little gaps in your day? Between lessons, for example, if you’re a teacher. What useful thing can you do in those times? Maybe that would be a good time to review your vocabulary flash cards or read a short news article in English. Or maybe you need to take a break and relax! That’s important too!

9. When you have a lot of work to do, set a timer for 25 minutes. Ignore distractions like your phone and work hard for 25 minutes, have a 5-minute break, and repeat this up to three more times. After that, take a longer break. This is called the Pomodoro Technique.

10. Group similar tasks together. For example, I do all my social media tasks in one block, then I might spend some time checking and writing emails. This is better than going backwards and forwards between the two things. This is called Time Blocking.

Next week, I’ll give you some ideas for how you can get more English into your life, even if you’re busy. So make sure you keep an eye on your inbox.

Have a good weekend!

Katie 💙

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