Shadowing Practice: 8 Things I Did to Stop Wasting My Evenings After Work - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Every day has the same 24 hours, but most people only have two parts, work and trying to avoid work.
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This was my reality for years, 16 hour days, completely exhausted and my evenings were disappearing.
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But at the same time, I really wanted to be there for my family and find time to work out.
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And it was only after having my first son, Max, and losing all of my free time
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that I finally discovered these eight hacks that completely changed how I use my time after work.
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So with that being said, these are the eight hacks to stop wasting your evenings and use them for what actually matters.
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Starting with the first hack to stop wasting your evening, use your feed to feed your mind.
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Most people will tell you delete TikTok and social media.
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I disagree.
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You can literally learn more online using social media than you'll ever learn in university.
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But the key is you need to learn how to hack your algorithm and here's how to do it.
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Number one, teach your preferences.
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Your social media is a mirror to what you've engaged with in the past.
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So if you want to use your feed to feed your mind, you have to actually tell it.
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So what I do is I actually search for things I want to learn about.
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Let's say it's AI or marketing my business or learning a new skill.
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And I search for videos on that.
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And then I leave a comment FYP, which stands for For You Page, which means feed my algorithm.
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Now, this isn't built into the algorithm.
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This is just my little sneaky way to hack it together.
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And it works flawlessly.
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You'll literally see your feed change within minutes.
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The second is unfollow accounts.
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Now this one might hurt some people's feelings, but trust me on it.
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You're responsible for the energy you bring into your life, meaning certain people's account are making you triggered and making you feel a certain way.
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So you might have to unfollow them.
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If you can't do it because you're worried of hurting some feelings, just mute them.
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I'm a big fan of curating and unfollowing it.
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I call it a friendventory.
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Number three, integrate what you learn.
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So it's one thing to just learn something.
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I'm a big fan of saving it, creating collections, and then using that information, trying to teach it to other people, share it.
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I might use it in a quote on Instagram.
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I might tell a friend about a story.
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I might refer it to somebody on my team or a friend of mine.
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The more you integrate what you're learning into the people around you, the easier it is for it to come back to help your mind.
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While most productivity nerds out there will tell you, get off your phone and delete the app.
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I'm telling you, use it.
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You just got to do it this way so it actually makes you better.
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Which brings us to hack number two of getting back your evenings.
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Forget work-life balance.
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Here's the reality.
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I work seven days a week, evenings included.
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Most people that see me think I have this very balanced life.
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And the truth is, is my life is 24 seven creation.
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I don't have work-life balance.
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I have work-life integration.
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I just happen to be in business with the same people I go mountain biking with.
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I don't separate anything.
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It's funny because my dad used to say, if you love the work you do, you'll never work a day in your life.
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I just didn't think he thought that I would take it to this level.
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So here's how I integrate my life to not waste my evenings to push my life forward.
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Every evening is used to be proactive to do something.
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Tuesday is date night with my wife.
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Mountain biking is Wednesday.
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It's all integrated.
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It's just doing the thing that I know is going to support my dreams.
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See, there is work that you can do even when your brain is fried and you're tired.
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So for example, if I'm not feeling like doing anything creative anymore, going to a founder's dinner, getting a group of friends to go mountain biking will reset my energy
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and allow me to have these conversations on the uphill that might move my business forward.
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The way I prioritize those kinds of activities is using the Eisenhower matrix where you have one axis that is important, the other one is urgency.
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And what you wanna do is use your evenings to do things that are important but not urgent.
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Strategy, ideation, reviewing data, and relationship building.
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Which brings us to hack number three, schedule family time.
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See, most people spend time with their family or their friends, but they're like half there.
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Their brains are fried and they're not present.
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Here's what I recommend instead is block that time out.
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I've always found it interesting that the people you love the most usually get your leftovers.
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And the reason why is you just don't prioritize your energy throughout the week, especially your evenings.
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I remember being at an event and hearing Ryan Holiday share this quote.
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He said, there are people with kids and then there are parents.
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I think parents are intentional about what they want to do and teach their kids, whereas there's people with kids that literally just make sure that they're fed and that's about it.
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So here are three ways to be present with your kids or your friends.
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Number one is weekly date nights or weekly nights.
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It doesn't matter if you're single and you want to see your friends or go on dates, but you need to prioritize it.
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I learned a long time ago, if my wife and I are good, the kids are good.
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If mom and dad aren't good, the kids want one thing, mom and dad to be good.
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So you got to make it a priority.
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Number two is plan the activity.
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Most people will just sit at home and be like, let's watch a show together.
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And they just lay around on the couch and they consider that spending quality time together.
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I think you should date your partner.
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I think you should get out of your home
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and you should go do things that both are interesting to you
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and that maybe you haven't done before because if it's the same old, same old, same old, trust me, you're not investing in the relationship.
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And the third is bedtime routine.
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I love to put my kids to bed.
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Why?
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Because for me, it's in that time.
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I ask my kids this question every day because I think it's the one thing I gotta get them good at, and that's, did you fail today?
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Tell me about it.
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And I celebrate it because I believe that winners fail more than losers.
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And if you don't let your kids fail, they'll grow up as losers.
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Which brings us to hack number four, defend your downtime.
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This was Dan about 13 years ago.
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I was working 100-hour weeks.
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I thought it was normal.
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I thought that frenetic energy is what made me successful.
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I thought it was my edge.
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The problem was is I literally burned myself out.
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My body said stop.
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I got adrenal fatigue and shingles on my back, and the people around me couldn't stand me because I couldn't turn off.
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What I've learned since then is the downtime is part of the creative process.
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That is something you wanna take advantage of.
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Hobbies aren't just a break.
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They're a strategy to success.
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I'm a better person for my family and my team if I go and do the thing I love to do.
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So here's how to defend your downtime and create that space for it to breathe.
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Number one, you got to block time for hobbies.
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On your calendar, block it in and put it in.
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I have the block times in my calendar to do the thing because I'm happier after I get to do those hobbies.
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The second is pick challenging hobbies.
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I get it.
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Some people are into like model trains and origami and all that fun stuff.
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It's just not for me.
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I like physical and mentally tough things like mountain biking, wake surfing, snowboarding, hiking, because I get to exhaust my body to tame my mind.
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And that makes me better for everybody.
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Number three, make it reoccurring.
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You ever have those times where somebody calls you to play ball hockey
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or pick up basketball and you have such a great time.
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And for whatever reason, life gets busy and you don't do it again, but you said you would.
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I'm a big fan of putting it in my calendar
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and sending the reoccurring invite to everybody that was there so that we don't miss it again.
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I really believe that consistency compounds and having that reoccurring calendar that everybody commits to will make it a priority.
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Which brings us to hack number five, never eat alone.
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I learned this crazy idea from Keith Ferrazzi when he wrote about it in a book called Never Eat Alone.
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As an introverted programmer that'd rather code than talk to another person, the idea of organizing dinners with business people to just invite them to hang out was wild to me.
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And I remember even Keith went as far in the book to talk about invite people to do workouts And I'm like, that's the dumbest thing ever.
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Nobody would ever do that.
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However, today, if I've never met you, there's no way we're connecting without first doing something hard physically.
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Usually the founders hike because it's just such a beautiful way to go do something
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that benefits both people and create the space for you to have really great conversations.
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The meal or founder's dinner takes it to another level.
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And the cool part is you can invite a lot of people because the more hands you shake, the more money you make.
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So one of my favorite ways to do this is if you're going to an event and you don't know anybody, Just book a restaurant the night of the event.
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And then as you meet people throughout the day, just be like, hey, you got dinner plans?
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No, do you wanna come to dinner?
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I'm invited a few other people.
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Then you become the person that brings them together.
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See, one of the things you'll learn if you study relationships and networking is that loose ties lead to the biggest opportunities.
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The people you know well already know you and what's available out in the world.
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They're not gonna bring you new stuff, but it's the people you just met or haven't seen in a
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while that will bring you the biggest opportunities to make you money.
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So I always curate the connections, make sure I invite the right people to the meal, and I introduce everybody to each other, they think that I'm the person that knows everybody really well.
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They don't realize that I just met them that day.
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Which brings us to hack number six, avoid the dragon, don't try to slay it.
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So the other day I was talking to my buddy who's trying to lose some weight, and he was all frustrated and pissed off
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because he said his family wouldn't allow him to get rid of the snacks in his house, so he's always catching himself snacking late at night.
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And I just said to him, they might not let you throw them in the garbage, just remove them from the pantry that you go in 17 times a day.
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Your environment will always win over your willpower.
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So here's how you set yourself up to win.
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Junk food issues, clean out your pantry.
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Don't have it in your face.
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For me, my crazy addiction is peanut butter.
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And if chocolate's nearby, you put those two together, it's not healthy.
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So I just don't have it in our pantry.
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It's in the laundry.
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Video games, unplug the console.
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I had a video game console at my house.
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I decided to bring it into the office.
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That way, if we wanted to play video games, we'd all have to get in the car, drive down to the office and play there.
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It turned out nobody wanted to play anymore.
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The ultimate way to not waste your evening is to make the good choice the only choice.
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Which brings us to hack number seven, do an evening reset.
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For me, this strategy is so important.
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I give everybody on all my teams this one book and it's called the five minute journal.
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And here's how we break down the process.
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Number one is reflect on today.
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Ask yourself, and this is what the book prompts, what went well and what did you learn?
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Most people don't take time to celebrate their wins.
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They always say, oh, I didn't get this done.
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When they go to bed, stress out, which affects their sleep.
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If you can just redirect that energy to awesomeness, you will sleep better.
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Number two is review your goals.
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See, I believe that if you want to hit a target, reviewing that goal three times a day will increase the probability
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that you hit that crazy target because you can't hit a target that you can't see.
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So every night before I shut things off and go to bed, I always review my goals.
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Number three is plan for tomorrow.
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Before I go to bed around 830, after I put my kids to bed, I sit down with my wife and we talk.
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I review my calendar.
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I review my plan.
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I make sure it reflects my priorities and my goals.
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And If it doesn't, I tweak stuff, screenshot it, send it to my assistant, but make sure when I wake up, I know exactly what I'm gonna attack, the workout and then get to the work.
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Which brings us to hack number eight of not wasting your evening, set a bedtime alarm.
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A few months ago, I had one of my private clients in town and he mentioned he had his wife.
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So I said, hey, why don't you guys come over for dinner?
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And we're in the living room and she starts telling me about how they met.
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And then she happens to mention that her husband has this bad habit.
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He literally set seven different morning alarms that he uses to snooze to.
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And it occurred to me that this guy thinks it's normal to wake up and just snooze, snooze.
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That is a big no-no.
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If you have a hard time waking up on time, then you have to set a nighttime alarm to go to bed.
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See, your energy today is from decisions you made before.
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Your choices now determine your energy later.
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Here's the reality.
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People see me post at four in the morning on Instagram, and most of the time I get up really early, but I get up without an alarm.
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And when people are surprised by that, I just tell them, oh, it's not that impressive.
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I just go to bed at nine.
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I literally have an alarm to tell me, go to bed.
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It's funny because everybody talks about the morning routine
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and I understand how important it is to have a process for getting into the creative work and really planning your day.
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But the end of the day is where we kind of button things up and create this framework for the following day.
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So in many ways, I think about it as a slingshot to your growth.
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Most people can stay focused and they have a lot of discipline during the day, but evenings are where the winners are made.
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If you make these small changes, you'll be unstoppable.
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So if you want to learn the 13 hacks to be 99% more disciplined, click here and I'll see you on the other side.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “8 Things I Did to Stop Wasting My Evenings After Work”. This video has 206 sentences and 2691 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:43. The speaker talks fast, about 230 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| integrate verb | /ˈɪn.tɪ.ɡɹeɪt/ | To include as a constituent part or functionality. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| downtime noun | /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/ | Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer crash or power outage. |
| pantry noun | /ˈpæntɹi/ | A small room, closet, or cabinet usually located in or near the kitchen, dedicated to shelf-stable food storage or storing kitchenware, like a larder, but… |
| prioritize verb | /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/ | To value, do, or choose something first, or before other things. |
| reoccur verb | To occur again; to recur. | |
| snooze verb | /snuz/ | To sleep, especially briefly; to nap, doze. |
| unfollow verb | To cease to subscribe to (a feed of another user's activity). | |
| algorithm noun | /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/ | A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input… |
| curate noun | /ˈkjʊɹɪt/ | An assistant rector or vicar. |
| bedtime noun | /ˈbɛdtaɪm/ | The time or hour at which one retires to bed in order to sleep. |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| reset verb | /ɹiːˈsɛt/ | To set back to the initial state. |
| fry verb | /fɹaɪ/ | To cook (something) in hot fat. |
| snack noun | /snæk/ | A light meal. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| clean out verb | To clean, especially to tidy by removing the contents. | |
| get back verb | Return to where one came from. | |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You'll literally see your feed change within minutes.
- I'm a big fan of curating and unfollowing it.
- I'm telling you, use it.
- I don't have work-life balance.
- No, do you wanna come to dinner?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you make these small changes, you'll be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've engaged · I've always found · haven't done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being said · isn't built · is fried |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 72 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: ideation /ˌaɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/, shingles /ˈʃɪŋɡəlz/, slingshot /ˈslɪŋʃɒt/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, screenshot /ˈskriːn.ʃɑt/
- Long words — get the stress right: prioritize /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/, ideation /ˌaɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/, introverted /ˈɪn.tɹəˌvɜːɹ.təd/, origami /ˌoɹəˈɡɑmi/, unstoppable /ʌnˈstɔ.pə.bəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like integrate, hobby, downtime.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.