What to Do When You Don't Feel Like Studying English

Hey!

What's up?

Welcome to Go Natural English.

In today's episode, we're going to talk about what to do when you don't feel like studying

English.

I know your goal is to get fluent in English, that's why you're here.

And I'm here to help you.

But I also know that sometimes you can lose motivation.

You might feel like you're tired, you just might feel like you don't have the time or

maybe you have other things that you'd rather be doing besides studying English.

So, in this episode, I'm going to give you some pointers, some suggestions that I think

will really help you to stay on track towards your goal for fluency in English.

And before I forget, I want to invite you to sign up for the free "7 Steps to Fluency"

course at GoNaturalEnglish.com/7steps.

And at the end of this episode, I'll link to that page again.

So, you don't have to go right now, you can watch this episode and then meet me there

after.

So, we have a few different ways to get us motivated to study English.

First of all, with anything, like whether it's studying or going to the gym, I always

remind myself that a little bit is better than nothing.

So for example, like if I don't feel like going to the gym, I remind myself that fifteen

minute in the gym is better than nothing.

I can get on the treadmill, I can break a sweat, and I can feel like I had a little

workout in fifteen or twenty minutes, and that's way better than nothing.

So, the same thing is true for your English study.

And I think it's even easier to do more in fifteen minutes sometimes than if you study

for an hour, because if you stay super focused for fifteen minutes, and you know that's all

the time you have, you might actually be able to do more than if you're half focused or

a little bit focused for an hour.

So, just try to take a little bit of time, stay super focused during that time, and it's

going to be way better than nothing, and maybe even better than longer time unfocused.

Next, try making your English study like a game.

So, see if you can challenge yourself to do better than the last time you studied.

Sort of like breaking your best score or doing better than before at a video game or something,

at some game you play, or maybe you like to play a sport.

So, how can you challenge yourself to do a little bit better each time you study English?

With things that I'm learning or challenges that I try to force myself to do, I love to

time myself.

I think timing yourself with a stopwatch can make it a fun game.

For example, if I time myself for fifteen minutes, how many articles in the news can

I read in the language I'm learning?

So, maybe for you, how many flesh cards you can look at with vocabulary words that you're

trying to remember?

Or just the same example that I gave just now.

Try to see how many short news articles you can read in fifteen minutes.

Or with a longer article, how much of it you can read at that time.

So, try to gamify your English learning.

And the easy way to do that is to use a stopwatch on your smartphone or online.

The next thing you can do (and there's three more things).

One thing is make it a habit.

So, studying English will become much easier if you kind of put yourself on autopilot and

make it a habit that you do the same time every day, especially if you have some habits

that you do before or maybe a reward that you give yourself after.

For example (and I keep likening studying English to going to the gym, because it's

something that's good for you, but sometimes you don't feel like doing it), so I try to

make going to the gym a habit that I do every that it's possible.

Like if I'm on an airplane or something, sometimes it's not possible, but I try to go everyday

soon as I wake up, after I wake up, but before breakfast.

So, usually I'll have some coffee, go to the gym, workout and then have my breakfast.

So, maybe for you, it would be English.

You can go to the gym at a different time, but maybe you wake up, have some coffee, do

twenty minutes of English study, and then have your breakfast.

Or the great thing with studying English when you compare it to going to the gym is that

you could eat breakfast while you study English.

I can't really eat breakfast while I'm working out at the gym, that would be kind of messy.

Could you imagine me eat my eggs when I'm on a treadmill?

Would not work very well.

Imagine how good you will feel after you study.

So, this is a mental check that you can do to motivate yourself to study.

Just imagine that feeling of pride and accomplishment that you get after you study when you realize,

"Oh my Gosh, I'm getting better, I'm learning."

Think of that feeling, and that would motivate you to get started with your studies, because

we all want to feel go.

So, think about how awesome you'll feel if you do this thing that's a little bit challenging,

studying English.

And last of all, do it with the community.

So, don't try to become fluent all by yourself.

It's going to be a big struggle.

With any kind of challenging goal in life, I really recommend finding a community of

like-minded people who will support you, who get what it is like to want to become fluent

in English.

I'm part of some great communities for different aspects in my life, like fitness, business,

language learning, and other things, like travel, that I enjoy.

So, hobbies too.

So, find a community, it could be hundreds or thousands of people, or it could be a small

group of people.

It could be the Go Natural English community.

I would love to see you at our Facebook page interacting or leaving comments or messages,

being part of our community there.

And also, on a deeper level if you're ready to get started with the Go Natural English

membership course.

We have a new one opening in early 2016.

So, be on a watch-out for that, because that is a great, really intense, and awesome experience

to be part of the premium members' community with other people who are really serious about

becoming fluent in English, and you can discuss and practice lesson that you get with Go Natural

English.

So anyway, let's review the one, two, three, four, five, five tips to get motivated when

you don't feel like studying English.

So, first of all, remember that a little is better than nothing.

Make it a game, try timing yourself.

Make it a habit, try studying at the same time every day.

And I suggest the morning, although if you're more of a night person, you might want to

do it after dinner or before you go to bed.

Imagine how good you'll feel after you study, how proud you'll be of yourself, and how proud

other people would be of you too, because you know your friends and your family want

you to succeed.

So, if you're not doing it for yourself, do it for them.

That's some added motivation, right?

And last of all, have a community that supports you.

So, if none of your friends and family care about you studying English, that's okay, they

still want you to learn, but don't rely on them to practice with you.

Find a community of like-minded people who can practice with you, who will support you,

who you can talk to about your challenges or your questions in learning English.

So, thanks so much for watching this episode.

I hope that it motivates you to continue to study English.

And I believe in your ability to become fluent.

So, don't stop, keep going.

Remember, a little bit every day will get you really far in a long run.

When you look back and you see how far you've come in the last few days, the last few weeks,

the last few months or even the last year, I think you'll be amazed if you keep track

of your progress.

So, thanks again, and I hope to see you soon.

Have a wonderful, awesome day.

Bye for now.