Hola! This is the 100th edition of Saturday Spanish (!!). Thank you so much for being a reader.
Like learning Spanish, this newsletter has been a long-term project where “progress” is hard to measure.
Each one of these takes me about 3 hours to write, edit, upload, and send… so it would be a lot easier to just… not do it.
But, to my own surprise, I’ve stuck with it and will continue to do so for three reasons.
So why should you care about this?
Because the 3 reasons I’ve stuck with this newsletter are the same 3 things you need to stick with Spanish for long enough to get good.
And if you’ve already stuck with Spanish for long enough to see big progress…
I’m hoping this will help you reflect on what’s worked for you so you can do more of that.
The Start / Stop Cycle
When you start learning Spanish, you are full of excitement.
That lasts until somewhere around day 27 or 105, when you have a doctor’s appointment or a hangover during your normal Spanish time… and then the momentum is gone.
The quick progress starts to slow, and it becomes clear how much there is left to learn.
Nothing is forcing you to learn, so you take a break.
A few months later, the cycle starts over.
But you never get to the point where you benefit from your practice and get to enjoy your Spanish.
It’s a frustrating cycle that reinforces myths and self-doubt about “not being good at languages”.
Your story probably doesn’t match this exactly, but most learners (myself included) go through some version of this.
So what’s the antidote?
In my experience, it has to do with 3 things — the same 3 that are helping me write this newsletter right now, even though it’s really nice outside and I’m out of coffee.
The Big 3
Here’s what any Spanish learner needs to stick with it for the long run: momentum, commitment, and a sense they are benefitting in some way.
Momentum:
This newsletter is a habit for me now. Every week, I spend a morning writing, and another morning editing. It’s part of my routine, and the 2-3 weeks I’ve missed have felt strange.
I don’t know about you, but momentum is key for me, in language learning and just about anything else.
The more days in a row I do the thing, the more my sense of momentum builds.
For your Spanish, ask yourself:
- When can I most easily commit to practicing every day?
- How can I motivate myself to keep the momentum? A tip I like (first read in Atomic Habits) is to keep a calendar where you cross off the day if you do at least 5 minutes of active Spanish practice. Your only goal is to “not break the chain”. Jerry Seinfeld once shared this as his secret to joke writing.
Commitment
I’m kind of a chronic procrastinator… but this newsletter is called Saturday Spanish. I can’t skip and send it on Monday without feeling a bit sheepish. I’m publicly accountable.
I’ve written in the past about how you can use this kind of extrinsic motivation to stick with a long-term goal like learning a language.
In a nutshell, it can be helpful to commit to something outside your comfort zone in the near (next 3 months) future.
This might be a plane ticket, an exam, pre-booking conversation sessions with a tutor, or even making a bet with a friend (you pay up if you don’t stick to your habit).
Benefit
Learning Spanish is not a fast undertaking. So we need to feel some wins along the way that remind us why we’re glad we’re doing this.
For me, this newsletter helps me think through my learning philosophy, try out different ways of teaching things, and become a better writer — all of which helps my business.
On top of that, I genuinely enjoy the topic. There is almost nothing else you’d catch me spending hundreds of hours writing or thinking about.
Noticing these benefits helps me stick with this weekly habit, even when I’m busy or unmotivated.
What benefits and small wins can you identify in your learning so far?
Do you get a feeling of accomplishment from the learning process itself?
If you successfully stick to a certain habit for the next month, what’s a way you could reward yourself?
Sticking with it for long enough to get good
If you find…
- A way to keep your momentum
- A commitment to keep you accountable
- A way to feel benefits along the way
…Then you are more likely to stick with Spanish for the long run.
Choose an approach to learning that engages and motivates you, then focus on doing something with it every day.
Buen fin de semana,
– Connor
P.S. If you’re feeling stuck and wondering if you are improving, this recent video shares something simple that’ll help (I wish I’d done it while learning Spanish).
P.P.S. Want better pronunciation and comprehension? This can help.
