How to Make Time for Language Learning with a Full-Time Job

If you have multiple responsibilities in life, such as juggling your job, maintaining your health and wellness, trying to communicate and socialize with your partner, friends, and family, and also if you struggle to find time to squeeze in language learning, this video is perfect for you. We often hear the saying, "If you really wanted it, you could have done it." Although I agree with the saying, it can be misleading sometimes. Just wanting something will never make you succeed.

Motivation is never reliable. Some days you have it; some days, probably most days, you're not going to have the motivation. Every day, when I wake up, I don't want to study Italian or German, try to improve my English, or keep in touch with my Japanese and Turkish. I don't like language learning itself, but I like the benefits of it, and that's why I do it. The link, instant gratification, is the way to succeed in anything you want from life, but it doesn't mean that knowing this will make you actually do the work.

If you have the best self-discipline in the world, you probably can achieve it only by relying on your self-discipline. But if you clicked on this video, something tells me that it didn't work out for you. I mean, I told myself countless times that I would start tomorrow, but that tomorrow never came. So if relying on your motivation never works and if you don't have the best self-discipline, what's the solution? The solution is creating systems that don't rely on your motivation or your self-discipline.

The crucial aspect is finding the sweet spot where it's so fun that it doesn't require motivation and so structured that it takes care of the self-discipline part. But before explaining the system itself, let's dive into why you should even bother to learn a language if you don't care about it. There will be a timestamp, so you can skip this part.

Learning languages is a blessing. It not only improves your brain but also connects you with new people. This can lead to business opportunities and also valuable human connections. In Japanese, there's a saying which means "your network is your net worth." Oftentimes, kids from rich families have an advantage in an industry because of their parents' connections. While it is unfair, this is the reality of the world we live in. Rather than complaining, it's important to stack the deck in our favor.

The great thing about the modern world is that everybody can network. The internet has allowed people to connect with each other. For example, I connected with my very close friends, Izzy and Matt, through the internet on an online course. Izzy's a fellow YouTuber and a doctor who lives in the UK, while Matt lives in the US. We are genuine friends, and we trust each other and love each other. They inspire me and push me to become a better version of myself every day. When they achieve something, I'm genuinely happy for them. Without the internet, we would have never met, but because of it, we became friends.

Sharing the same interests and values is so important for us. Learning languages also gives you a new perspective. People judge things from their own perspective, but learning new languages and cultures can broaden your horizons. When you learn a new language, you also learn about the culture and customs of the people who speak it. This can help you understand their perspective and be more open-minded towards various things happening around you.

For example, some cultures prioritize personal space and are more distant, while others prioritize openness and closeness with each other. For example, Japanese and American cultures. Some cultures prioritize the community; others prioritize individuality, like Japan and the US, or maybe Japan and Germany. Some cultures have strict gender roles, while others are more fluid, like Russian culture and maybe UK culture. It's not that one culture is better than the other; every culture is beautiful and unique. But there are definitely cultures that align with your values more than others.

Finding that culture or even creating your own values and your own culture will give you a unique perspective. As a third culture kid who has been exposed to Japanese, Turkish, European, and American cultures, I have learned that every country has something to offer. Rather than being tied to any specific culture or country, I focus on what I want from life at that moment. This mindset gave me a lot of freedom. I gained this through language learning.

So let's talk about how we're going to create this system now. The day one is going to be our planning and feedback day. If you have a classic nine to five job, this day can be Saturday. Pick a day in your week where you're able to get 30 minutes to one hour to plan what you want to learn and understand where you currently are. You need to identify your goal, so understand why you want to learn a language. Is it for fun? Is it for school? Is it for business?

Depending on your goals, the path you need to take and the amount you need to study will differ. The vocabularies you learn, the grammar you'll focus on, and the materials you'll use are going to be different depending on your goal. If you want to learn more about studying methods depending on your goal and how to do it effectively, check out my language course. You can find the course for free on Skillshare. There will be a link in the description which will give you 30 days free Skillshare membership.

You can watch and finish the course during your trial, or if you prefer lifelong access without the Skillshare subscription, you can purchase my course on Teachable. I did a pre-sale and received feedback from you all about the topics you want me to cover, so I'll be adding 10 to 15 bonus lessons to the course. If you're interested in purchasing the course, act fast because the price will increase after the bonus lessons are added.

After understanding where you are and what you want to learn, it's important to realistically plan how much you will study. If you constantly plan to do more than you can handle and if you're feeling disappointed, start by assigning a small amount. Choose something so small that it's almost impossible for you not to complete that week's work. Most people believe that they need motivation to do something, but motivation comes from action and accomplishment.

Achieving your goal and completing it will increase your confidence and motivation to keep going. Cover areas such as vocabulary, grammar, speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Allocate 10 minutes for each section and use apps, services, books, or websites to complete each group. You might think 10 minutes won't be enough for me to learn, but it's still better than nothing. Also, there is something called the rule of hundred.

The rule of hundred states that if you spend 100 hours a year, which is 18 minutes a day, for most disciplines, you will be better than 95 percent of the world in that discipline. So have the mindset of, "It's still better than nothing. We don't need to be perfectionists."

Day two is the Creation Day. Ideally, you can plan this on Sunday. If you are planning to learn new vocabulary using Anki flashcards, which I highly recommend, set a specific day each week to create your weekly flashcards. Create all the flashcards for the vocabulary you want to learn that week in bulk. If you don't have specific vocabulary you want to learn and plan to add it as you go, you don't need to worry about this day; just create Anki flashcards when you encounter important vocabulary you don't know during your study sessions. Try to create all your flashcards in 30 minutes. If you're spending more than 30 minutes and if you're not an Anki beginner user, you're probably making too many.

Stop making too many Anki flashcards. This is one of the very common mistakes that language learners do. From day 3 to day 7, so Monday to Friday, is going to be study day. During your commute, while you're doing the chores, or any free time, listen to podcasts or watch and download YouTube videos and audiobooks in your target language. Practice with Anki flashcards. When choosing a movie, actively pick one in your target language. When reading the news, try to read it in your target language.

These small decisions will help you improve your skills greatly. When you return from your work or maybe school, complete your assigned daily tasks. Since it should only take about 10 minutes, it shouldn't be too difficult to complete. If you're struggling to complete 10-minute tasks, maybe the problem is not language learning, but it's your self-discipline. Maybe you should practice that.

Like all systems and everything, repeating is important. So consistency is key. Repeat this cycle and give yourself feedback about what you did well and what you could have done better each week. Giving yourself feedback and constantly improving is crucial in any field. Consistency is key, but without reflecting and improving, it's just a waste of time. So your time is limited; use it wisely.

If you struggle with daily habits and if you're like me who has an all-or-nothing attitude, seeing big results might help you to kickstart your journey. As Jeff Hayden from the book "Motivation Myth" says, "Motivation is the pride you take in the work you've done, fueling your willingness to do more because improving feels good; it breeds confidence, creating a feeling of competence."

If you want to dedicate one to two months to see maximum results and kickstart your language journey, I highly recommend doing Lingoda language Sprints. The Sprints are two-month learning challenges where you take lessons intensively and see big progress quickly. There are two types of Sprints: you can either do Sprint (15 classes per month) or Super Sprint (30 classes per month). Lingoda teaches four languages: group and also private 101 English, German, French, and Spanish.

The Lingoda curriculum is intertwined with the cultural context and real-life language, so you can learn slang, expressions, and phrases that native speakers actually use. It can help you reach conversational level in just two months and connect with a community because you're taking lessons with other people. The classes are 60 minutes long, online, and also live. You'll learn from experienced native teachers. In those lessons, you and three to four classmates will focus on speaking and real-life conversations, as well as learning grammar structures. Your teacher will give you feedback after the lesson about what you can improve and also let you know what you're already good at, so that you will know your strengths and weaknesses.

And since I have a full-time job as a creator, it's convenient to be able to pick a time and day that works for me. I'm planning to do the Sprint (15 lessons per month) to get back on track with my German. The lessons were so fun that I wanted to study German so bad. It's been such a long time since I've spoken German, and it's nice to feel that you're back. You can follow a structured curriculum or choose your classes in your own way.

Additionally, if you complete the Sprint Challenge and follow all the rules, you can earn a 50 euro cashback for the Sprint and 100 euro cashback for Super Sprint. It's really great because it keeps you accountable and gives you a motivation to continue. Click the link below for more information and use my code for 20 euros or 25 dollars off your Sprint registration.

Now let's get back into the video. There are many people in the world who are more talented than you; they're sexier, smarter, richer, more creative, more likable, more charming, better connected, better looking, and better at language learning. But there is one thing you can do better than them: you can outwork them. Consistency always beats talent.

When I say consistency, I don't mean only pushing and pushing and pushing. Consistency means reflecting, giving feedback, improving each time, and never giving up. Actor Will Smith once asked how he got to be so successful in his career. He said, "The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of those things, but if you get on a treadmill together, there's two things: you're getting off first, or I'm going to die."

Anybody can cultivate this discipline; it's the single most effective strategy to outperform the toughest competitors you'll ever face. You just need to be consistent. Benjamin Hardy once said, "Consistency is the most fundamental virtue to becoming the person you want to be. Success comes through sustained effort, and most people wouldn't do the work."

Talented, attractive, lucky people are everywhere; they're around you. You probably see such people every day on your social media feed, too. But very rarely, they're consistent. That's why eventually, they will fail, and that's why you will succeed. Consistent people are extremely rare because it requires discipline. If you want to learn to cultivate consistency in your work, you will eventually beat any talent, luck, skills, even quality, just by being consistent.

Consistency will make you feel like a loser all the time. You'll spend working, trying, failing, trying again, failing again, trying again, and failing again, which will make you think you're a loser. You'll feel like a nobody who sucks and isn't good for anything and should just quit because you'll never be good enough. At least that's how I felt when I learned German.

When I started my first YouTube channel seven years ago, I kept going because one thing I know is consistency beats talent. You and I will be there when somebody gives up. We will continue going, and we will outwork them. It's not because we are geniuses or because we're more talented, but because we're going to be more consistent, and that's why we will succeed. Hopefully, this video helps you guys, and see you in my next video.