I started learning French to be conversant with a language half of Africa uses (francophone Africa) and to learn how to stick with something for a long time.
I get frustrated when things do not work as quickly as I want. Often, the only way out of that frustration is quitting (yes, horrible, I know).
My dad says this is a characteristic of gifted individuals. They are predisposed to question their intelligence if they don’t master a new skill/ability quickly enough.
This attitude can make them quit a project prematurely. He is an educator; he knows his stuff, so I chose to believe and run with that narrative.
Still, it is a negative attribute, and I’ve STRUGGLED to kick it. At the beginning of the year, I resolved: “I’ll use Duolingo to learn a new language to teach myself to keep at something no matter how slow the progress.”
Duolingo: A free mobile and web app where anyone can learn 30+ languages with bite-size lessons based on science —Definition from Duolingo App
230 days in, here is what I’ve learned.
The Human Brain is a Marvel
There is nothing you cannot teach or rewire the brain to do.
After 230 days, my French is still basic, but I have not quit (and I won’t). The most incredible thing is that my brain no longer needs a reminder. A thought will pop into my brain at some point during the day—you have not done your French lesson.
I don’t know how or when it happened, but I am slowly rewiring my brain to stick with an unpleasant, slow-moving task long-term. There is nothing more freeing.
I’ve opted to apply the method to bits of my life with a manual system👇
So far, so good. I will probably turn it into an app at some point to increase effectiveness (well, maybe). First, let me see how well this manual system works.
5 Minutes a Day is a Lot of Time
Do you ever feel that you have so much to do in a day, 24 hours couldn’t be enough? That is me on an almost daily basis.
A 230 days streak has taught me that it’s not time you don’t have. You just think 5 minutes or even 1 minute is not enough time. But it is. The amount of French I have learned by investing 5 to 15 minutes daily boggles the mind.
Seriously, though, I have learned so much that it feels like magic. All because I set aside 5 minutes daily to learn a new language.
You do not need 24 hours, a week, a month, or a year. Start with 5 minutes, and see where it gets in you in 230 days.
To further understand the weight of a single second, here is a quote from one of my favorite books.
“All the world and more has rushed eternity’s length to reach this beat of your heart, screaming down the years. And if you let it, the universe, without drawing breath, will press itself through this fractured second and race to the next, on into a new eternity.
Everything that is, the echoes of everything that ever was, the roots of all that will ever be, must pass through this moment that you own. Your only task is to give it pause—to make it notice.” —Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Yep, your, my, our only job is to make each second count before it rushes on to the next.
Gamification Works
Gamification entails adding gaming elements to education to enhance the education experience. It aims to motivate students to engage more with educational materials.
The gamification elements in Duolingo include:
The leaderboards (a series of 10 leagues that rank the top performers per week. The Top 5 proceed to the successive league, the bottom 7 are demoted to a lower league, and the other 18 remain in the same league).
An event called Match Madness that runs every Monday to Friday. It allows you to match words with their meaning (for example, French words and their meaning in English). With each level, you earn points that push you higher up the league.
A timed challenge. It runs from Friday to Sunday. You get between a minute and thirty seconds to 2 minutes and 15 seconds to complete a timed challenge based on your learning. Each successful challenge earns you points.
Points and gems. Gems give you access to some of the perks of premium (paid) Duolingo.
Quests. For example, complete 1 perfect lesson, earn 20 points, and speak in 7 exercises to earn x amounts of gems.
As a rule, I’m not too fond of games. They do nothing for me. If I must have a game on my phone, I stick to puzzles and word games because they are more educational than gamey.
It was, therefore, a shock to realize that the gaming elements on Duolingo worked on me. I don't particularly appreciate being demoted, I always spend a few more minutes on the app to complete the quests, and I love the timed challenges.
I once spent an hour on timed challenges.
So, next time I bump into gamified educational stuff, I will be more open. As a tech nerd, if I am ever in a position to develop educational material, I will consider incorporating gaming elements.
If it’s your thing, you should try it as well.
Doing Something for Short Periods Consistently Breeds Productivity
Discipline is often hailed as the holy grail of productivity and success.
The idea is that discipline will force you to keep at it, even when motivation is zero. Eventually, that will bring success. That is true, but it is human nature to resist doing what you don’t want. It is the reason procrastination is an epidemic.
A 230-day streak on Duolingo has taught me that when you can’t marshal up discipline, doing a task for short periods daily will keep you consistent. It tricks the mind into thinking you did so little the previous day; there is no harm in doing today and the next day.
Also, whenever you lack motivation, 5 or 10 minutes seem like a short time to invest. Often, you will opt to do the task rather than procrastinate it.
With time, you build that muscle. You will do that same task for even an hour or more, but it still feels like a short period. More than that, you’ll be excited to do it again the next day.
In contrast, when you invest, say, 6 hours on Monday on a task, it is often the last thing you want to do the next day. There is a feeling of, “But I spent hours on it yesterday.” Soon, a week goes by, and you have yet to return to it.
So, if you are struggling with discipline, try doing that task for 5, 10, or 15 minutes a day. See how it goes.
Takeaway
If anything I have learned resonates with you, feel free to run with it.
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