The Jeongtaek's Things

My Plan for Consistent Growth in English

Jeongtaek Bang

My Journal

I’ve felt frustrated when I can’t speak in English.
There are often cases where I have to speak in English, such as phone calls or meetings.
Since I can’t speak English fluently, I feel less confident and want to give up on speaking altogether.
I think this is part of my personality—I tend to avoid stressful situations by giving up.
This leads to a negative loop. Although I want to speak English well, I don’t make an effort to overcome this.
I simply decide to give up and judge myself as not having the ability.

I want to improve myself, but I don’t take action. It’s ridiculous. Why don’t I do it?
This is a serious problem.
On weekdays, tiredness wins over what I want. When I make a plan, it often ends in three days, sometimes even just one.
How can I overcome the habit of not taking action?

Chat GPT advice

Your journal reflects a lot of self-awareness, which is an important first step toward improvement. Let’s correct your English and address your situation:

Corrected Journal:

My Journal

I’ve felt frustrated when I can’t speak English.
There are often situations, such as phone calls or meetings, where I need to speak in English.
Since I can’t speak it fluently, I feel less confident and sometimes want to give up on speaking English altogether.
I think this is part of my personality—tending to avoid stressful situations by giving up.
This leads to a negative cycle. Even though I want to speak English well, I don’t make enough effort to overcome this challenge.
I simply decide to give up and judge myself as not having the ability.

I want to improve, but I don’t take action. It’s ridiculous. Why don’t I do it? This is a serious problem.
During the weekdays, tiredness wins over what I want.
When I make a plan, it often ends after three days, or sometimes even after just one.
How can I overcome the habit of not taking action?

Steps to Overcome This:

  1. Set Small, Realistic Goals:
    Start with mini-goals like speaking 5 minutes of English every day.
    The important thing is consistency, not perfection. Aim for incremental progress, not immediate fluency.
  2. Recognize the Value of Small Wins:
    Celebrate when you’ve practiced even for a short time. Building confidence slowly will make a difference over time.
  3. Embrace Challenges:
    Instead of avoiding stressful situations, try to see them as learning opportunities. Each difficult conversation helps you improve.

  4. Track Your Progress:
    Keep a journal where you note every time you successfully use English, no matter how small the situation. This will motivate you to continue.

  5. Shift the Mindset:
    Try to reframe the feeling of tiredness or fear as part of the process. Growth often comes from discomfort, so seeing challenges as steps to success can shift your attitude.

Me:
OK. But it’s not easy to win tiredness when I return home after work.

Chat GPT Advice

I completely understand how difficult it is to push yourself after a long day at work. It’s a common challenge, especially when fatigue sets in. To address this, here are some strategies that might help you work around that tiredness while still making progress:

  1. Micro-Habits:
    Instead of committing to an hour of English practice, try committing to just 5 minutes.
    Even when you’re tired, 5 minutes feels more manageable. Once you start, you may feel the momentum to continue, but even if you stop at 5 minutes, it’s still progress.

  2. Time Stacking:
    Pair your English practice with something you already do daily, like listening to a podcast or an audiobook in English while commuting, cooking, or getting ready for bed. This way, you’re practicing English without needing extra time or energy.

  3. Best Time of the Day:
    If evenings are too tough, maybe mornings are better for you. Try practicing 10 minutes before work or during your lunch break when your mind is fresher.

  4. Weekend Power Sessions:
    On weekends, when you have more energy, you could dedicate longer study sessions. Then, during the week, just focus on very short practice. This way, you’re still making progress but working with your energy levels.

  5. Incorporate Fun:
    Choose English activities that don’t feel like work. Watch a fun show or movie in English, or chat with a friend. This makes it feel less like “study” and more like relaxation, even though you’re still improving.

  6. Accountability Partner:
    Find someone who can help you stay motivated, even for small tasks. You could check in with a friend who is also learning English or use a language app that tracks your streaks. Knowing someone or something is “counting on you” can boost your motivation.

By lowering the pressure and making small, manageable adjustments, you can still practice English without feeling overwhelmed by tiredness.

Me:
Thanks. I have another plan to study AI in Coursera. How can I keep learning under this situation? I think that learning in Coursera requires much time…

Chat GPT Advice

It’s great that you’re planning to study AI on Coursera! Balancing work, English practice, and studying AI can definitely feel overwhelming, especially when you believe Coursera courses require a lot of time. But with some strategic planning, you can make this work:

  1. Set a Realistic Study Schedule:
    Break it down: Coursera courses are often divided into small sections with videos and quizzes. Instead of trying to do one long session, aim for 15–30 minutes a day or whatever fits into your schedule. Even small daily chunks add up over time.
    Plan ahead: Look at your week and choose which days are realistic for longer study sessions (maybe weekends), and which days can only handle shorter ones.

  2. Combine Learning:
    AI + English: Since you’re already working on English, you can combine the two by studying AI content in English. This will help improve your English while learning AI concepts.
    For example, you could watch the AI course videos with English subtitles and focus on both the subject matter and language.

  3. Batch Learning on Weekends:
    If weekdays are too difficult, use weekends for longer study sessions. You can do more in-depth learning on weekends when you have extra time and focus. This will free up your weekdays for lighter reviews or shorter tasks.

  4. Use Dead Time:
    You can take advantage of dead time like commuting, waiting, or downtime by listening to AI podcasts, audio lectures, or even skimming articles on your phone. It doesn’t have to be “intense” study—just absorbing new concepts will help.

  5. Alternate Focus:
    It might be useful to alternate between English and AI. For example, you could spend three days focusing on English and two days on AI. This way, you won’t feel overwhelmed trying to tackle both every day.

  6. Set Weekly Goals:
    Set small, achievable goals for both English and AI. For example, aim to complete two sections of the Coursera course in a week or have one in-depth AI session on weekends. Breaking it down keeps it manageable.

  7. Stay Flexible:
    It’s okay if some days you feel too tired to study AI or English. Flexibility in your routine can prevent burnout. You might adjust your study plans as you go, but the key is to keep moving forward.

By adopting a more flexible approach and breaking the learning into small parts, you’ll be able to progress in both English and AI, even with limited time.

Me:
Back to my concern…The point is… how to overcome the habit of not taking action. I know that I have to take action if I want something. But I’m used to not taking action and falling into a negative loop.

Chat GPT Advice

Your self-awareness about falling into a negative loop of not taking action is a powerful first step. Many people struggle with this, and overcoming it is about small, consistent shifts in behavior. Here are some strategies that can help you break out of the habit of inaction:

  1. Start Extremely Small:
    Often, we set goals that feel overwhelming, which makes taking action harder. Try starting with tiny steps—so small that they seem almost too easy. For example, if your goal is to practice English or study AI, commit to just 2 minutes a day. This lowers the mental barrier to start.

  2. The 5-Minute Rule:
    This is a great way to trick your brain into action. Tell yourself that you’ll only work on something for 5 minutes. Once you start, you’ll often find that it’s easier to continue. The hardest part is usually starting.

  3. Habit Stacking:
    Tie the new action you want to start to something you already do regularly. For example, if you brush your teeth every morning, add 5 minutes of English practice or AI review right after. This helps your brain associate the new habit with an existing one, making it easier to do automatically.

  4. Set Up a Trigger and Reward System:
    Trigger: Have a specific, consistent time or event that reminds you to take action. For instance, after finishing dinner, you practice English or review your AI course for 5 minutes.
    Reward: After completing the task, reward yourself. It could be something simple like having a cup of tea, watching a short video, or taking a short break. Rewards help reinforce the behavior.

  5. Focus on Identity, Not Just Results:
    Instead of focusing only on results (like mastering English or finishing an AI course), focus on becoming the kind of person who takes small actions. Shift your mindset to “I am someone who takes action,” even if it’s small steps. Over time, those small actions build momentum.

  6. Track Progress Visually:
    Use a calendar or an app to track your daily progress. Mark each day that you complete a small task. Seeing a streak of completed days can motivate you to keep going and avoid breaking the chain.

  7. Accountability:
    Find someone who can hold you accountable, even for small actions. Share your goals with a friend or join an online community where people have similar goals. Knowing that someone else is aware of your progress can motivate you to take action.

  8. Reflect on Why You Want This:
    When you feel stuck, remind yourself why taking action matters to you. Visualize the benefits you’ll gain by sticking with it—whether it’s improving your English for work or gaining AI skills for your future. The clearer your “why,” the easier it becomes to overcome inertia.

Me:
I like 1,2,4,5,8

Chat GPT Advice

Great! Now that you’ve identified the strategies that resonate with you, here’s how you can apply them to break the habit of inaction in a concrete way:

  1. Start Extremely Small:
    Example: Instead of committing to a large study session, you could start with just 2 minutes of English practice or AI study per day. Even if it feels too easy, it’s about building the habit.

  2. The 5-Minute Rule:
    Example: Commit to working on something for just 5 minutes. Whether it’s reviewing a Coursera lecture or practicing English, the goal is simply to start. After 5 minutes, you can stop, but often you’ll find it easier to keep going once you’ve begun.

  3. Trigger and Reward System:
    Trigger: Choose something you do every day (e.g., brushing your teeth, having dinner) as a trigger. Right after that, do your small task.
    Reward: After completing the task, give yourself a small reward, such as watching a short video, enjoying a snack, or just relaxing for a bit.

  4. Focus on Identity, Not Just Results:
    Start thinking, “I am someone who takes small actions daily to improve.” This shift in mindset makes you feel more capable and helps you stay motivated even when progress feels slow. Each small step is reinforcing your identity as a proactive learner.

  5. Reflect on Why You Want This:
    Example: Write down your reasons for wanting to improve your English or learn AI. Keep this somewhere visible (like on your phone or desk) to remind yourself of the bigger purpose. When you feel tired or unmotivated, looking at this can help reignite your desire to keep going.

By combining these strategies, you’ll slowly shift from inaction to building consistent habits. The key is patience—don’t worry if it feels slow at first. Every small step you take brings you closer to your goal!

Me:
어 추천해줘. Coursera 강의를 지속적으로 듣는 스케쥴과 영어 관련해서는 Input으로는 책을 읽고, output으로는 영어로 내 생각을 작성할거야. 중간 중간 듀오링고도 할거고. 파이참 프로젝트처럼 생각하면 되나?

Chat GPT Advice

Great! Let’s structure a realistic action plan for the next week that balances your Coursera AI learning, English input and output, and Duolingo practice. Here’s a suggested plan:

Daily Routine:

Weekdays (Mon–Fri):

  1. Morning (Optional if time allows):
    • 5–10 minutes of Duolingo (quick practice to start the day, light and easy).
  2. After Work (when energy is low):
    • English Input (Reading):
      Read 5–10 pages of an English book.
      Keep it short, so you don’t feel overwhelmed after work. The goal is consistency, not quantity.
  1. Evening (Optional):
    If you still have energy, listen to part of a Coursera AI lecture (maybe 10–15 minutes). You can do this while relaxing or lying down. Even small exposure will keep the momentum going.

Weekends (Sat–Sun):

  1. Coursera Study Sessions (Longer and more focused):
    1–2 hours each day for Coursera. Focus on watching lectures, taking notes, and completing exercises or quizzes.
    If possible, spread it out: maybe an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to avoid fatigue.

  2. English Input & Output:

    • Extended reading: Read 20–30 pages of your book.
    • Writing: Write a brief reflection or journal entry in English. Aim for 1 paragraph, but don’t worry about perfection—just practice getting your thoughts down.
  3. Duolingo (Optional):
    • Use Duolingo as a quick refresher in between study sessions or while relaxing.

Weekly Goal:

This plan gives you a structured but flexible approach, especially on weekdays when you’re tired. It’s like managing your PyCharm project, but instead of coding, you’re managing small chunks of learning each day!

What do you think? Would you like to adjust any parts of this plan?

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