Shadowing Practice: Stop wasting your time | Easy English podcast | B1-B2 listening practice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey, hey, hey, English learners.
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Welcome back to the English Learning Podcast.
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This is the place where you can learn real English, everyday English, and the kind of English you can actually use in real life.
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I'm Sarah.
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And I'm Jake.
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Together, we're your two English friends.
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And don't worry, there's no big red pen here.
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We're not waiting to correct every little mistake.
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Just natural conversations, real stories, and English that helps you feel more comfortable speaking.
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And today's topic is something we all say we don't have enough of.
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Time.
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Today we're talking about how to stop wasting your time.
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Before we start, please like this episode and subscribe to Daily English Podcast.
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It really helps us.
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And tell us in the comments, what wastes your time the most?
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Okay, Jake, I have a confession.
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Last Sunday, I planned to finish three important things.
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At the end of the day, I had finished zero, but my phone battery was at 12%, so I clearly did something all day long.
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Ha!
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I know that feeling very well.
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Mine is usually a busy day where I run around, answer messages, open 10 tabs on my laptop, and then at night I ask myself,
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what did I actually do today?
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Being busy and being productive are not the same thing.
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That's a great point.
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Being busy means you're doing many things.
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Being productive means you're moving towards something that matters.
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You can be very busy and still not get closer to your goals.
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It's like running on a treadmill.
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You sweat, you breathe hard, and at the end, you are still in the same room.
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Right.
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Lots of effort, but you stay in the same place.
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So the first idea today is simple.
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Before you start your day, ask yourself, what really matters today?
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If you can't answer that question, it's easy to spend your energy on small, random things.
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And one of the biggest small, random things is multitasking.
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A lot of people are proud of it.
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They say, I can answer emails, join a meeting, and reply to my friend at the same time.
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Honestly, I used to say that too, and I thought it made me look very smart.
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The problem is that our brain doesn't really do many things at once.
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It jumps quickly from one task to another, and every jump costs a little energy.
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So you end up doing everything more slowly, and you make more mistakes along the way.
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I noticed this when I tried to write a report while chatting with a friend.
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I read the same sentence five times, and my friend thought I was ignoring her.
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So I lost time, and I almost lost a friend.
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Great result, right?
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Terrible efficiency.
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A better way is single -tasking.
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Choose one thing, give it your full attention for 25 minutes, and then take a short break.
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Many people call this the Pomodoro Technique, and it works surprisingly well, even for people who get distracted easily.
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The short break at the end is important, so stand up, drink some water, and rest your eyes.
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By the way, Pomodoro means tomato in Italian because the inventor used a tomato -shaped kitchen timer.
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So next time you study English for 25 minutes, you can say, I'm doing a tomato session and feel very professional.
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I love that.
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And here's a tip for English learners.
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During those 25 minutes, put your phone in another room, not on the desk, not in your pocket.
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If it's close, part of your brain is still waiting for it, even when the screen is dark.
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Now let's talk about another time waster that people don't talk about enough, saying yes to everything.
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A friend asks for help, a co -worker asks for a favor, a cousin asks you to join a project,
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and you say yes every time because you don't want to seem rude. Been there?
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Then your own to -do list becomes the last priority.
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Helping people is wonderful, but if you never protect your own time, you'll feel tired and stressed,
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and you probably won't do a good job for anyone, including yourself.
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A tired helper is not a very good helper.
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So learning to say no politely is a real -life skill, and it's a useful English skill too.
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You can say, I'd love to help, but I'm busy right now.
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Or, thanks for thinking of me, but I can't take that on this week.
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Those are perfect.
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Notice that you don't need a long explanation or a big apology.
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A short, kind answer is enough.
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You can also say, can we do it next week?
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That way you're honest with the person, but you don't close the door completely.
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Another big one is perfectionism.
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Sometimes we spend three hours making one small thing perfect.
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I once changed the color of a presentation slide for an entire evening.
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Nobody noticed, and I'm still not sure which blue was better.
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I do this with messages.
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I write a message, delete it, write it again, and 15 minutes later I send three words.
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The same thing happens when people learn English.
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They wait until their English is perfect before they speak, and that day never comes.
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And that's the trap.
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You'll never feel completely ready.
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So a good rule is done is better than perfect.
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Finish the first version, then improve it if you really need to.
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Most of the time, good enough is truly good enough.
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You can always fix a small mistake later, but you can never get back the hours you spent worrying about it.
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I totally agree.
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Let's get practical now.
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Sarah, what do you do when you have a big task and you have no idea where to start?
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For me, a big task feels like a huge mountain, and I just stand there and stare at it for a long time.
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I break it into tiny steps.
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If I need to write a report, my first step isn't write the report.
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It's open a document and write the title.
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That takes 30 seconds.
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And after that, the mountain suddenly feels much smaller and easier to climb.
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Once you start moving, your brain usually wants to keep going.
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That's smart.
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There's also the two -minute rule.
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If something takes less than two minutes, like replying to a short message or putting a cup in the sink, do it immediately.
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Otherwise, these little jobs pile up and slowly become a monster.
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Yes.
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Small tasks are like crumbs on the floor.
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One or two are nothing.
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But if you ignore them for a week, suddenly you have a big mess.
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But be careful.
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Don't use the two -minute rule as an excuse to avoid your main task.
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Guilty.
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I once answered 40 quick emails and felt so productive, but my important project hadn't moved at all.
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So the order matters.
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Do your most important task first when your mind is fresh and then handle the small stuff afterward.
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It's a simple change, but it completely changes how the day feels.
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Speaking of fresh minds, do you know your best time of day?
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Some people have the most energy in the morning, others at night.
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If you do your hardest work when you're tired, it will take twice as long and feel twice as painful.
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Good point.
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I'm definitely a morning person.
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My brain works best before 11am, so I protect that time for my most difficult work, and I keep the afternoon for emails and simple things.
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What about you, Sarah?
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Are you a morning person too?
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No, I'm more of an evening person, so I save my creative work for later in the day.
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The lesson is simple.
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Notice when you feel sharp and put your important work there.
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Try tracking your energy for one week and you'll see a clear pattern.
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Don't force yourself to follow someone else's schedule, because it may not fit you.
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Now let's talk about a sneaky time waster.
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Too many small decisions.
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What should I wear?
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What should I eat?
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Which show should I watch?
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I once spent 40 minutes choosing a movie, and then I fell asleep in the first 10 minutes.
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What a victory.
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Oh, I know that.
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You scroll through the menu forever, and then you choose nothing.
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One trick is to decide in advance.
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Plan your meals for the week, choose your clothes the night before, and keep a list of movies you really want to watch.
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That's a great trick.
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Fewer decisions mean more energy for the things that really matter.
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Even famous leaders wear similar clothes every day for this reason.
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And honestly, it makes sense.
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And if you're learning English, you can decide in advance too.
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For example, every day at 7 p .m., I study for 15 minutes.
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No debate, no negotiation with yourself.
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Exactly.
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Routines make life easier because you don't need to argue with yourself every single day.
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Another thing that wastes time is waiting for the perfect moment to begin.
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People say, I'll start when I have more free time, but that day rarely arrives.
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True, but not all waiting is a waste.
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Sometimes you're waiting for the bus or standing in a queue.
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Instead of scrolling without thinking, you can use those little gaps.
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Listen to a podcast, review five English words, or just breathe and relax for a moment.
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Five minutes here and five minutes there can become a real habit.
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I love that.
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We even have a phrase for it.
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Kill time.
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It means doing something small while you wait.
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For example, I killed time at the airport by reading a book.
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But if you kill time every day, you might be killing your dreams too.
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Dramatic, but true.
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Let's talk about meetings, because people waste so much time there.
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Long meetings with no plan, unclear goals, and 10 people listening to one person talk.
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Afterward, everyone thinks that could have been an email.
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Ha!
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I've said that many times.
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If you have any control over meetings, keep them short and clear.
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Know the goal.
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Invite only the people you need and end with what happens next.
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And here's a useful English question to practice.
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What's the goal of this meeting?
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Good phrase.
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Now let's talk about digital clutter.
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Hundreds of unread emails, a phone with 300 photos of the same sunset, and files named final, final two, and real final.
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When everything is messy, finding anything takes forever.
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I spent 20 minutes yesterday looking for a document that was in my downloads folder the whole time.
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So try a weekly cleanup.
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Take 10 minutes on Friday to delete old files, organize the rest, and give them proper names.
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It saves hours later, and your computer will feel like a fresh, clean room.
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That's practical.
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Let's talk about sleep, too, because bad sleep silently wastes your time.
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If you sleep only 5 hours, you might work for 10 hours, but your brain works like it's in slow motion.
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Sleeping well is actually a time -saving strategy.
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One good night can save you from three slow, foggy afternoons, and that's a great deal.
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Yes, sleep is not lazy.
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Rest, exercise, and good food make your work faster.
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It's like charging your phone.
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You can't keep using it at 1 % and expect it to run perfectly.
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Your body and your brain need to recharge as well.
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And that brings us to guilt.
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Sarah, after you waste time, how do you usually feel?
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I usually feel bad, and then I say, well, the day is ruined, and I waste the rest of it too.
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That's a terrible habit, and I'm trying to change it, one day at a time.
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I've done that too.
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It's like dropping one plate and then throwing the rest of them on the floor.
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Instead, say, okay, I lost an hour, but I still have the rest of the day.
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Reset and begin again from the very next moment.
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You can't change the last hour, but you can change the next one.
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That's a great mindset.
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Now let me ask you something.
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Do you think a to -do list is enough?
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Sometimes my list is 25 items long, and it looks so scary that I don't even want to start.
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I just close the notebook and make coffee.
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A list can be helpful, but it needs limits.
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I choose one main task and two smaller ones every day.
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If I finish those, everything else is a bonus.
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This way, I end the day feeling successful, not defeated, and that feeling helps me tomorrow too.
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Small wins give you energy, and energy makes the next win easier.
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I like that.
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A short list is more realistic.
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And here's another useful question.
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How do you check whether something is worth your time?
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I ask myself, will this matter in a week, a month, or a year?
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It helps me decide very quickly.
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If the answer is no, I let it go without any guilt and I move on to something better.
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That's a powerful question.
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Scrolling for an hour probably won't matter next week, but learning 10 new English phrases, calling your grandmother, or finishing a course,
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those things matter in the long run, and they make your life better step by step.
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In the long run is a useful phrase.
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It means over a long period of time.
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For example, small daily habits are more important than one big effort once a month, in the long run.
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Now, should we review some useful phrases from today?
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Absolutely.
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First one, a waste of time.
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It means something that doesn't give you any useful result.
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For example, I think arguing online with strangers is a waste of time.
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Second, to put something off, it means to delay it.
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For example, I keep putting off cleaning my garage, and now I'm afraid to open the door.
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Third, to stay on track.
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It means to keep moving toward your goal without getting lost.
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For example, I use a small notebook to stay on track with my English practice.
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Fourth is kill time, which Sarah mentioned earlier.
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For example, I killed time in the waiting room by learning new words.
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And the last phrase is, cut it out, which means to stop doing something you shouldn't be doing.
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Yes.
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For example, I need to cut out late night scrolling or I'll be tired tomorrow.
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Great phrases, everyone.
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Try to use at least one of them today in a sentence, out loud or in the comments below.
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Speaking a new phrase just once makes it much easier to remember.
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Now let's do a short practice.
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I'll give you a situation and you answer out loud.
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Sarah, imagine your friend invites you to a party, but you have an important deadline tomorrow.
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What do you say?
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I'd say thanks so much for inviting me, but I have a deadline tomorrow.
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Can we meet next weekend instead?
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That way I'm polite and honest and I keep my time for my work.
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A real friend will understand and we can still celebrate together later.
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Perfect.
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Here's another one for you.
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You open your phone to check the time and 30 minutes later, you're still watching random videos.
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What can you tell yourself?
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I can say, okay, I got distracted, but it's not too late.
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Let me cut it out and get.. back on track.
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And then I'd put the phone in another room for one hour.
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Excellent.
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One last practice.
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You have a huge project and you feel overwhelmed.
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What's the first small step you can take?
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I'd say I don't have to finish everything today.
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I'll just start with one small step, open the file, and work for 25 minutes.
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Starting is usually the hardest part of any task.
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That's exactly the point.
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And it's our challenge for you today.
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Choose one task you've been putting off, set a timer for 25 minutes, put your phone away, and work on it.
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Just one session.
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That's all we ask, and we promise it will feel better than you expect.
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Then come back and tell us how it went in the comments.
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And remember, you don't need a perfect plan or a perfect day.
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You only need to start.
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Even a small change today can save you many hours in the long run.
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Well said.
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To finish, stop trying to do everything, focus on what matters, say no when you need to,
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rest without guilt, and use the small gaps in your day.
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Your time is limited, so spend it on purpose and enjoy every well -used hour.
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Thank you so much for spending this time with us today, English learners.
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If you enjoyed this episode, please like it, subscribe to Daily English Podcast, and share it with a friend who needs to stop wasting time.
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Keep practicing, keep speaking, and keep learning.
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See you in the next episode.
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Bye, everyone.
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Thank you.
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Why This Video Is Perfect for Real-Life English Practice
If you want to learn English with videos that feel like chatting with friends, this clip is a goldmine. The dialogue between Sarah and Jake is casual, relatable, and packed with everyday phrases—no stiff textbook language here. They talk about time management, a universal topic, so you’ll pick up vocabulary you can use immediately. Plus, their natural pace and conversational tone make it ideal for shadowing technique practice, where you repeat what you hear to mimic pronunciation and rhythm.
Breaking Down Natural English: 3 Key Phrases
Let’s look at why their speech sounds so real:
- “I have a confession.” This is a warm, informal way to share something personal. Native speakers use phrases like this to build connection, not just state facts. Notice how it’s followed by a relatable story—perfect for practicing conversational flow.
- “It’s like running on a treadmill.” Metaphors make ideas stick, and this one is simple and vivid. Using comparisons like “it’s like…” helps you explain concepts clearly, a skill crucial for fluency.
- “Great result, right?” The tag question “right?” turns a statement into a friendly check-in. It’s a small detail that makes speech sound less robotic and more interactive—something to copy when practicing.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Try Today
Ready to practice? Use the shadowing technique with this video:
- Watch a 30-second clip, focusing on intonation and pauses.
- Play it again, pausing after each sentence, and repeat it out loud—try to match the speed and stress.
- Record yourself. Compare it to the original: Did you catch the “uh”s and “um”s that make speech natural?
- Do this 5 times, then try it without pausing.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is done · is ruined · is limited |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who get · out, which means · friend who needs |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've said · I've done |
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.