Shadowing Practice: this DOPAMINE based routine got me EASILY ADDICTED to studying - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey everyone, today I'll be showing you a quick dopamine -based morning routine that not only made me addicted to studying,

but it also got me an average of 98 % grades at school.

So I got straight A's.

And the good thing about this routine is that it's so easy to implement.

It does not take much to implement.

You just have to literally change one thing and you're golden.

So let's get straight into it.

Now, this routine will not only make you 10 times more productive, but it will actually make you enjoy studying, which is the most important part.

It will make studying addicting because this morning routine takes advantage of your dopamine levels.

Let's get straight into it.

Okay, so for a quick explanation of what dopamine is, let's say this is your day and this is your dopamine.

And I'm going to add a third line, which is your baseline.

Basically, when you wake up in the morning, your dopamine is somewhere around this range, somewhere here, right?

The problem is a lot of students

or people in general start their morning routine by opening their phone or watching social media or I don't know, even pornography.

And the problem with those kinds of activities is it causes an early dopamine spike.

And the problem with huge spikes of dopamine in the morning is

that it will create a huge drop to compensate for the huge dopamine spike because of course your body undergoes homeostasis.

Your body needs to balance your levels of dopamine and

because of its huge drop whatever you do during this time will just feel like a freaking chore.

It will feel like work.

It will feel unenjoyable.

This is why whenever you use your phone at this time it will cause a huge spike

and typically when you try to study after using a device

so for example here in this range your studying will just feel really unenjoyable.

Like literally you will rather be doing anything else and this is why most people after using their phone and social media,

what do they do to circumvent this?

They obviously go back to using their phone again.

And that is the problem with starting your day off with a dopaminergic activity.

It starts your day off with such a peak, your day ends up looking like this.

It's gonna look very messy and because of these peaks, it's gonna be hard for you to focus doing literally anything.

Now, what about a top student?

A top student manages their dopamine levels like this.

So typically in the morning when they wake up, the first thing they do is they don't use their phones.

So it's going to look something like this.

When you don't use your phone or if you don't do any dopaminergic activity, your dopamine stays at this baseline.

And because you're at this baseline, whatever you're doing like work or studying or whatever, it becomes enjoyable.

Because your brain is not suffering from a huge dopamine spike, therefore it becomes a consistent and throughout the day when you're eating or whatever,

as long as you're keeping this line in check, then you're going to have a good consistent study habit.

Top students typically aim for more natural sources of dopamine, like for example, studying itself or going outdoors or even exercising.

And you could check out Matthew Smith's video on this.

He actually created a very good video explaining about dopamine loading.

So the first thing I do whenever I wake up or regardless of what time I wake up,

although I do wake up at 5 a .m nowadays because I find that to be the most practical time for me,

but there isn't really a correct time to get up.

So as long as you just follow this routine when you get up.

But literally the first thing I do when I get up

and I get out of bed is I don't go to my phone.

I literally don't touch that thing.

It's usually in silent mode and I just don't open it.

I don't check messages.

I don't check emails.

I don't even check my classes if there's an announcement.

I don't touch a piece of technology.

I just go straight to meditate.

And basically my meditation does two things.

The first thing is that it clears my mind.

It stabilizes my dopamine so it's not spiking.

So it has that baseline level.

Not only does this help start my day,

but it also helps me study because anything that's occurring in my mind will be flushed away when I'm meditating.

So I always do this before I study

because it's quite beneficial as well because

when you're taking information as much as possible you don't want to have too much cognitive load like thoughts

or anything disturbing you so that's why the first thing I do

when I get out of bed is I literally just meditate and I meditate for a couple minutes before I start studying.

The second thing that my meditation does and it's very very important but I essentially prime myself for the day.

Whenever I meditate I try to align myself with what I have to be for the day.

So this is very useful

if you want to stay consistent for a long period of time because a lot of times people,

when they're motivated to change or to apply this certain habit, every time they wake up the next day, they just forget everything.

And I wanted to get.. behind that and my solution to

that was to just literally align myself to remind myself like okay

you have to be this person don't forget your goals you're going to have to be doing this and

that you have to act

this certain way today in order to keep my mindset in the long run

you have to be constantly reminding yourself of what you have to prioritize

so literally while i'm meditating i am not only clearing my mind

but i'm also trying to align myself

so basically i would remind myself okay this is a person that I have to become.

Today I have to study hard because I have high aspirations

and I really want to deeply learn the stuff that I'll be learning today.

So as you guys know I'm someone who likes learning other things like math

and science or computer science

and I like spending my time productively instead of just scrolling through social media

or just scrolling through TikTok and especially when it comes to learning computer science, math and science.

I like it when it's very visual and that's why this video is sponsored by Brilliant.

The one thing that I love about Brilliant is that they teach in a very visual and engaging approach.

So instead of just blindly teaching you topics,

they actually make you do the problems themselves and they help you tackle problems and grasp concepts by doing.

I've been so interested in AI lately

so I've been doing their How AI Works course under technology

and I've been having so much fun just learning the core principles of AI

and have it in a fun presentable way as well.

So if you guys want to learn for free then go to brilliant .org slash kynopuk

or scan the qr code on the screen

or you can even click the link in the description brilliant

was kind enough to give kynopuk users a 20 off the annual premium subscription just just basically gives

you a unlimited access to brilliant so again check the link in description qr code

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or you can go to the link anyway back to the video

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and of course right after meditating i just go straight to studying i don't even wash my face.

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I don't even eat.

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I don't even prepare my day.

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I just go straight to studying.

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And the reason why is because my mind is already primed

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and cleared with a baseline of dopamine that I want to take advantage of it.

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And because of that, I just start studying.

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I don't do X or Y.

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I don't prepare my environment.

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It's already prepared.

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My desk is literally nothing but my laptop.

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So I don't have to do anything.

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I just have to go to my desk and just start studying.

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My showering and breakfast can come later

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and you know you could do this first whatever works for you

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but that's kind of the reason why I also wake up early is

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because it also allows me to study a bit in the morning

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and literally my classes become my review because I've already learned the information

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so in a way class becomes my secondary review

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which is pretty gnarly if you ask me

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and another good thing about waking up at 5am is

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that no one is up like I'm just there like I'm alone like I'm just there with my studying

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and nothing will distract me.

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So here's a morning routine that you can implement early in the morning.

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And basically the one thing that you have to do is not necessarily doing stuff that makes you more productive,

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but it's more about removing the things that make you not productive.

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You need to clear your morning so much that the only thing you feel like doing is studying.

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You need to give yourself no reason to watch your phone

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or to do x and y so that you will be naturally gravitated towards studying.

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And literally the one recommendation I give every person I meet or every student is to literally don't open your phone.

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Don't do anything that spikes your dopamine first thing in the morning.

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So like social media, chatting, chatting with friends, heck even pornography.

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If you start your day with those kinds of activities you're just going to end up spiking your dopamine

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and experiencing that low level of dopamine which just makes your studying or anything less enjoyable.

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So one takeaway you can take from this video is to literally balance your dopamine.

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It's okay to use your phone.

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It's okay to play games.

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It's okay to do stuff that you like, but make sure that you regulate it.

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You don't just start your day with that dopamine activity.

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You can do so later.

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You can enjoy everything later, but your morning is like the most important one hour of your day because that sets the rest of your day.

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If you want to make studying fun or anything fun in general,

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you need to cut out the external sources of dopamine so that you yourself can make the studying itself intrinsically fun.

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You can't just stack dopamine and use your phone and watch subway surfers while studying because obviously studying requires your full attention.

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If anything, studying can be intrinsically fun.

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There can be a bit of fulfillment if you just focus on studying itself rather than layering dopamine over it.

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But that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed today's video.

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I hope that tomorrow morning you're going to not use any gadgets or any social media.

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You're just going to do what's important.

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Obviously you can modify your routine

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but at the core essence try to avoid any dopamine inducing activity first thing in the morning.

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Speaking of dopamine let's choose the emoji of today.

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I'm thinking syringe because dopamine syringe chemicals.

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Now comment down a syringe emoji if you've reached this part of the video

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and I'll see you guys in the next one.

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Don't forget to drink your water.

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Bye!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “this DOPAMINE based routine got me EASILY ADDICTED to studying”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: dopamine, studying, routine. This video has 157 sentences and 1945 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:57. The speaker talks fast, about 195 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% 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

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
routine noun	/ɹuˈtin/	A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.
spike noun	/spaɪk/	A sort of very large nail.
baseline noun	/ˈbeɪslaɪn/	A line that is a base for measurement or for construction.
consistent adjective	/kənˈsɪs.tənt/	Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
remind verb	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
productive adjective	/pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/	Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile.
implement verb	/ˈɪmpləmənt/	To bring about; to put into practice; to carry out.
align verb	/əˈlaɪn/	To form a line; to fall into line.
desk noun	/dɛsk/	A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a…
habit noun	/ˈhæb.ɪt/	An action performed on a regular basis.
mathematics noun	/mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/	An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them.
meditation noun	/mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/	A devotional exercise of, or leading to, contemplation.
enjoyable adjective	/ɛnˈd͡ʒɔɪ.ə.bl̩/	Pleasant, capable of giving pleasure.
scroll noun	/skɹoʊl/	A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll.
addict noun	/ˈæd.ɪkt/	A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
get up verb		To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
cut out verb		To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something).
get behind verb		To come to believe or support something.
go back to verb		To stem from; to originate in.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Let's get straight into it.
I literally don't touch that thing.
I don't touch a piece of technology.
It stabilizes my dopamine so it's not spiking.
I don't even prepare my day.

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 doing · I've been having
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	will be flushed · is sponsored · is already primed
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've been · I've already learned · you've reached
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	studying, which is · line, which is · someone who likes

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 56 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/
Long words — get the stress right: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, pornography /pɔɹˈnɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/

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 routine, spike, baseline.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →