Shadowing Practice: how to reset when you have no motivation (from a type a/b person) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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hey it's mary welcome back
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i've been staying home way too long and i feel very lazy
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and to come out of this this weekend i will be
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tackling everything i've been avoiding for the past several weeks we're just going to call
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that my avoidant list and the more
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that grows the less confident i feel about myself at times
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and i find myself in this cycle of maybe self -sabotaging
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and becoming more and more lazy To get out of this rut, I need to start tackling things on that list.
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So this weekend, I'm doing everything I'm avoiding.
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So let's get into it.
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So the first task on the list is organizing and listing my Depop clothes.
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The girlies that know this, Depop is stressful.
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There's a whole process to it.
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Listing something sounds simple, but it's actually kind of brutal and tedious.
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You're taking photos, measuring the item on the floor, writing a description, and then figuring out where to even store it in your home.
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It seems like a small task on paper and somehow still a whole process, especially for Depop girlies because we take our clothes very seriously.
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For me, figuring out where and how to store all the clothes I want to sell is what I actually avoid.
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My space that I currently live in isn't that large.
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There's not much room for storage or closet space.
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So what happens is I end up with these piles of clothes pulled out of my closet
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that are never photographed and because this pile starts to grow it looks really daunting.
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And then I start avoiding that pile by cleaning things
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that don't even need cleaning which is such an odd behavior of mine
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but for example I'll reorganize my sock drawer or the clothes I actually wear instead that are around that pile.
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So I just clean things around the mess that I actually need to clean.
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How I usually get out of that cycle is I just have to face the pile and honestly at least it's folded.
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I find a weekend like this one to knock it all out.
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It takes a few hours but once something's posted on Depop, I find a way to store it in a bin outside.
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And on a good weekend, I'll even pack it in a labeled bag so when it's time to ship, it's ready to go.
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And every time I do this, it's not really about the clothes that I'm selling.
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It's a small proof to myself that I follow through on something I've been dreading.
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That's the part that actually builds my confidence.
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Another one on my list is my kitchen specifically my stove top i have the kind that's not electric
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and it actually uses fire so there's pieces
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and grooves where debris gets stuck over time i saw a
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reddit thread online once where someone talked about how the debris that's stuck in your stove top
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if that debris is left unchecked that stuff actually insulates the burner
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and makes it use more energy plus the trapped food particles create this lingering smell that messes with your kitchen's air quality.
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It's these small annoying daily things that build up for me, which is exactly why it stays on my avoidant list.
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But the second it's done, that's one less thing sitting in the back of my mind telling me I'm behind or I'm a lazy piece of shit.
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And honestly, having a nice kitchen without an area that I'm avoiding means I can actually live in it more.
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It's funny because I used to have no method to my life at all.
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I really was a type B person
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because I grew up in a type b home i know my channel is about slowly getting your life together
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but i was once on the complete other end of
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that i was dreading life i was lazy i never had my shit together
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and i was always behind i didn't wake up one day
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and just change i got to where i am today
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because i hit a place where i hated myself so much
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and the only thing i ever did was compare myself to everyone else around me
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but going back to my actual home chores yes i still live in a rental
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but i don't agree with it when people say it's just a rental so I'll leave it bare minimum.
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Because the habits that you're building right now, they will follow you into your permanent home.
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If you don't build your good habits now, what makes you think you're going to have them later?
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Now that my kitchen's clean, I actually can live in it more and I have full control over it.
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And because of that clean space, I decided to tackle my next thing on my checklist which is prepping fruit.
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Cooking and looking at these beautiful colors of food genuinely make me happy.
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But those feelings only show up when I'm in a good mental space
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when I'm feeling lazy or I'm feeling like shit I sometimes can't even stand food
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so I just don't eat
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but prepping fruit for the week feels like I'm finding a
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way to serve my future self it's not always fun
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and my legs start aching from standing for two hours straight it starts like itching
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and stuff you know that feeling where you're just like running for a long period of time
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and your thighs are chafing so it's like itchy yeah I get
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that feeling when I'm standing up for a long period of time cutting fruits for freaking two hours straight.
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Cutting fruit and cleaning up after myself is not an easy task
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but honestly future me thanks me a lot for it and
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when I do check it off I feel so much better and less lazy and less ugly about myself.
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it's such a small thing
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but it's one more task where i didn't let the avoidance win
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so the next thing on my list is vacuuming my entire
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freaking apartment every single room no skipping corners my partner does help me with this
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so i'm not doing this alone
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but what we do is we vacuum the entire apartment
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and we also have to move our furniture out of the way
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which is another annoying thing
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and then i go over the floors with this vinegar based cleaner
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that my partner made vinegar is just a natural way to
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actually get things clean without covering it up with a bunch of chemicals.
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I just feel like every single day I learn something new about a product
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that I've been using for a long period of time or I've seen my parents use and it's like cancerous.
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Walking across my apartment that actually feels clean just hits different.
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It's proof that I didn't avoid the mess and I just dealt with it.
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Another area of my house that I dread is truthfully the bathroom.
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Cleaning the bathroom weekly is another one
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that ends up on my avoidant list more than I like to admit mostly because it just takes so much energy.
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It's not one quick wipe down.
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I have to clean the toilet, the shower, the sink, the mirror, all of it.
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I even wipe down my walls
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but I'd rather push through it once a week than let it pile up into something way more exhausting later
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and when it's done I get
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that same feeling like okay I have my life together and
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because the bathroom is clean it actually motivates me to get in the shower
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and take a nice steaming hot shower to end my day.
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The kind of shower that alleviates my self -hate, the feeling of unworthiness because I'm being lazy, which sounds dramatic for a shower but it's honestly what goes through my head.
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Showering and taking care of myself is the last thing on my list
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that I like to check off when I'm in a rut.
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Sometimes I think people around me assume I have it together all the time
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but I have days where I feel completely broken and just tired.
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I have my moments too.
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Sometimes it's exhausting being perceived as this put -together person because honestly, I'm a mix of type A and type B.
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This week was genuinely hard for me.
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A few tough moments, some high stress, and me constantly brushing it off like I'm totally fine.
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And this weekend happens to be one where I turn it around and try again.
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Every day is a new day for you to try again and be a better version of yourself.
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And that's honestly the whole point of this list for me.
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None of these tasks are big and none of them are really impressive.
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I found this Reddit thread once where people were sharing their small achievements of the day
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and someone says something that really stuck with me.
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They said some days just getting out of bed is the achievement.
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Washing dishes, sweeping a floor, these things some people do on autopilot are actually huge for someone who's struggling.
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It's so easy to attach your self -worth to how productive you are
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And once you do
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that an undone task doesn't just sit on a list It starts to feel like evidence against you
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or evidence that your life is a lie
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But completion is the flip side of
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that There's actually a term for it the task completion effect
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where finishing something even something small gives your brain This little hit of closure
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and control That's why crossing something off feels disproportionately good compared
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to how small the task actually was It's not really about the fruit
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or the floors or the shower It's about proving to yourself that you're someone who follows through.
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So by the end of the weekend I'm not just looking at a clean apartment I'm looking at proof proof
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that I did things I kept putting off and
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that this version of me can be trusted to take care of things
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that matters a lot more than the task ever did
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Who Is This Video For?
This video is perfect for intermediate English learners looking to practice real-life conversation skills, especially for IELTS speaking practice. It’s ideal if you want to learn how to talk about daily struggles, personal growth, and small wins in a relatable way. The casual tone and focus on everyday tasks make it great for shadowspeak (or shadowing technique)—repeating phrases aloud to mimic rhythm and pronunciation. Whether you’re prepping for an exam or just want to sound more natural, this dialogue teaches you to express frustration, motivation, and progress like a native.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
- Tackling: To start dealing with a difficult task. Example: “I’m tackling my avoidant list this weekend.”
- Daunting: Intimidating or overwhelming. Example: “The pile of clothes looked daunting.”
- Follow through: To finish what you start. Example: “It’s proof I can follow through on something I dread.”
- Behind: Not on schedule. Example: “I felt like I was always behind.”
- Knock it all out: To complete tasks quickly. Example: “I’ll knock it all out this weekend.”
How to Get the Accent Right
The speaker uses a relaxed, conversational tone with natural pauses—key for shadowing technique. Focus on reducing stress on “small” words like “the” and “and” to match her flow. Notice how she emphasizes words like “brutal” and “tedious” to show emotion. Practice saying phrases like, “It’s not really about the clothes” with a rising intonation on “really” to sound engaged. Also, mimic her casual contractions: “I’ve been,” “I’ll,” and “it’s” to sound more natural. This video is a great tool to learn English with videos while mastering everyday pronunciation.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | i've been staying · i've been avoiding · I've been dreading |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are never photographed · is left · being perceived |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | cleaning which is · checklist which is · someone who follows |
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.