A Realization

I was absolutely crushing it with Dreaming Spanish. I got 126 hours in December! Then, I got surgery in January, and suddenly, I just was not in the mood for Spanish. I still managed to hit my goal of at least 60 minutes a day, but my motivation was all over the place. Some days, I’d feel guilty and push for over 3 hours to “make up” for it, and then the cycle would repeat. In the end, I only hit 77 hours in January, almost a 50-hour drop from December :(

By February, I wanted to break this cycle, so I upped my goal to 90 minutes a day (enough to push myself without burning out). I hit it almost every day, except one where I got 88 minutes (but hey, that’s basically 90, right?). Even though February has fewer days, this strategy worked, and I still ended up with 82 hours!

For March, I increased my goal to 100 minutes a day. I thought about 120, but I knew missing it on some days might bum me out and ultimately hurt my progress. This whole experience reinforced something I’ve suspected for a while erratic listening isn't as effective as consistent listening. The daily commitment matters more than the big numbers.

Anyone else had a similar experience with fluctuating motivation and pacing themselves back into it?