So after this realization, I decided to dedicate 1 month to each goal.
This doesn’t mean that everything must be wrapped up and neatly tied with a bow by the end of the month. This is just to make sure I give each about 20+ weekdays of undiluted attention during which I put all my other goals on hold.
If a goal resonates, and I decide I want to spend more time with it, I will for as long as I need to. If a goal doesn’t resonate, then I will feel no guilt putting it away by month’s end knowing that I gave it a fair shot.
Let’s do this! 💪
I decided to dedicate July to goal #1, learn the Indonesian language. Here’s an overview of how the 1st week went:
Day 1
After weeks of neglect, I resumed with lesson 46. Focusing is difficult because I have ideas about my other goals and I have to exert willpower to bring my mind back to the day’s lesson.
Day 2
Moved on to lesson 47. Started to ask myself how else I could reinforce my learning. Dusted off an old edition elementary school workbook that I found on bargain a long, long time ago and proceeded to werk.
After 2 pages, looked for and found a podcast about language learning on which I heard Benny Lewis say that he didn’t need to speak the new language perfectly, he just needed to be able to communicate in it (or something like that).
Perfect! That’s what I want too.
What is coach surfing? 🤔
Enrolled in Benny Lewis’ 1 week email course : “Speak in a Week”.
Day 3
Woke up at 6AM with the intention to do some reading in my target language while everyone else was still asleep.
I worked on my new diamond painting project instead, and I wasn’t even aware that I made the switch! 😫
Plodded through lesson 48, midway, I was typing in my credit card details with 4 items for check-out in my online shopping cart. 😫😫
Day 4
I decided that if something was driving me to shop online when I had no need to, then I needed to take a step back from this and re-group.
Found a local TV program about arts & crafts, enjoyed it so much, and wrote down some new vocabulary. Finally. Score! 😃
Day 5
I sat down for the day’s lesson but found myself watching a YouTube video about the 10 people who hate Megan Markle instead 😲😲
Good Lord, I have never sunk so low!
Decided to redeem my dignity by watching the local arts & crafts program again with notebook and pen in hand. Hmmm … decoupage looks like something I could get into. 🤩Noted!
😵😵😵
Week 1 Conclusion:
I’m really struggling with this. Maybe the language classes I bought is no longer engaging because at this level, I’m bombarded with words that are not common to everyday conversation. Then there’s grammar … 🤢
The local TV program helped because it was interesting and it’s training my ears to how Indonesian is actually spoken. I am happy when I am able to make out words, even those that I don’t know the meaning of 😀 I then write these down and note their meanings.
The old schoolbook also helps. Somewhat.
Here’s hoping week 2 will go much better.
Of Snailmail, Books & Vanities 