Shadowing Practice: Why Do We Feel More Creative at Certain Times? | B1 English Shadowing - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Have you ever had a great idea while taking a shower, walking outside, or lying in bed,
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but then struggled to think of anything useful when you finally sat down to work?
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Maybe you can write easily late at night, but feel stuck in the morning.
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Maybe your best ideas come when you are alone, but disappear when you are in a busy office.
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It can feel strange.
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You are the same person working on the same kind of problem, but your mind does not always work in the same way.
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Some hours feel full of ideas.
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Other hours feel completely empty.
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So, why does this happen?
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Creativity is not only about talent or intelligence.
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Our energy, attention, environment, and daily habits can all change the way we think.
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And when we understand the times when our mind feels more open, we may be able to use those moments better.
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One reason we feel more creative at certain times is simple.
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Our energy is not the same all day.
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Think about a normal day.
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Maybe you wake up feeling fresh, but after several hours of work, your mind becomes tired
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or maybe mornings are difficult for you but after lunch
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and a short break
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you suddenly feel more awake different people have different patterns some
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people think clearly in the morning others become more active in the afternoon
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or evening when your mind has enough energy it can be easier to connect different ideas,
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solve problems, and imagine something new.
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When you are very tired, your mind may focus more on finishing the next small task.
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You may still be able to work, but new ideas can feel harder to find.
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This is one reason forcing yourself to be creative at the same time every day does not always work.
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You may have a writing task at 10 in the morning, but your best ideas may come at 8 at night.
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That does not mean you are lazy in the morning.
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It may simply mean that your mind has a different rhythm.
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Paying attention to your energy can help you notice when your thinking feels clear and when it feels slow.
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You do not have to change your whole life around these times.
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But if you notice that your best ideas often appear at a certain time, time, it may be worth giving that time some space.
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Another reason creativity can appear at certain times is that our minds finally have some space.
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During a busy day, we may move from one task to another without stopping.
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We answer messages, check emails, talk to people, look at our phones, and think about what we need to do next.
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Our attention is always going somewhere.
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Then later in the day, we take a shower, go for a walk, wash the dishes, or sit quietly for a few minutes.
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Suddenly, an idea appears.
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Because you are not asking your mind to focus on one difficult task, it has some free space to connect things in the background.
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Think about a problem you have been trying to solve.
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You work on it for an hour and get nowhere.
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Then you leave your desk and take a short walk.
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Ten minutes later, the answer suddenly comes to you.
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The walk did not magically solve the problem.
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You simply gave your mind a different kind of time.
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This is why breaks can sometimes help creative thinking.
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A break is not always wasted time.
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Sometimes, stepping away from a problem helps you see it differently
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Of course, this does not mean you should avoid work whenever you feel stuck
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But if you are forcing yourself to think harder and harder,
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sometimes the better choice is to step away for a little while Your mind may need space, not more pressure
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Our environment can also change the way we think.
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When you spend every day in the same room, looking at the same desk and doing the same tasks,
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your mind may start following the same patterns.
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This can be useful when you need to build a routine, but it can also make new ideas harder to find.
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That is why a small change can sometimes help.
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You might take your notebook to a different room.
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You might work in a quiet cafe.
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You might walk outside while thinking about a problem.
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You might simply change where you sit.
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The goal is not to find a magical place that makes you creative.
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It is to give your mind something slightly different to notice.
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New sounds, new views, and new experiences can give you new things to connect.
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Imagine that you are trying to write about travel, but you have been sitting at the same desk for two hours.
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Nothing comes to you.
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Then you go outside and walk through a busy street.
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You see people, hear sounds, and notice small details.
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Later, you return to your desk, and suddenly you have something to write about.
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The ideas did not come from nowhere.
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Your surroundings gave your mind new information.
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Creativity often grows when old ideas meet new experiences.
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Sometimes, changing your place is enough to change what you notice.
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It can be useful to know when you feel creative, but there is one important problem.
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If you always wait for inspiration, you may not create very much.
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You may say, I write best at night, and then skip writing because you do not feel ready.
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Or you may think, I need to be in the right mood.
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The problem is that the perfect mood does not always arrive when you need it.
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Creative people do not always feel creative.
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Sometimes they simply begin, and the ideas come later.
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You can use your best times when possible, but you can also practice working when your mind feels ordinary.
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For example, if you know that you often have good ideas in the evening, keep a notebook nearby.
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Write down ideas when they come.
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But during the day, do not be afraid to do simple work.
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Write the first paragraph.
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Make a rough list draw a simple picture.
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Start with something small.
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Creativity does not always appear before action.
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Sometimes, action invites creativity into the room.
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The first sentence may be difficult, but the second sentence may come more easily.
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The first idea may be weak, but the next one may be better.
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This is why it is useful to understand your natural rhythm without becoming controlled by it.
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Notice when your mind feels open, give those moments some space, but keep practicing even when you do not feel especially creative.
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We do not think in exactly the same way all day.
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Our energy changes.
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Our attention changes.
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Our surroundings change.
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And because of that, Our creativity can change too.
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You may have your best ideas in the morning, at night, during a walk, or after a quiet break.
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Pay attention to these moments.
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Notice what you were doing where you were and how you felt.
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You may start to see a pattern, but do not wait for the perfect moment every time.
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Use your best moments when you can and keep working when you cannot.
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Sometimes, creativity comes when you stop forcing it.
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Sometimes, it comes after you begin.
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The important thing is to give your mind both things it needs, space to explore and a reason to keep going.
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You made it to the end.
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Keep listening, keep speaking, and keep practicing.
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Your best ideas may come at unexpected times.
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So when one appears, write it down.
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You never know where it may lead.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Do We Feel More Creative at Certain Times?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: creative, creativity, notice, write, walk. This video has 109 sentences and 1264 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:12. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 92% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| creativity noun | /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/ | The ability to use imagination to produce a novel idea or product. |
| 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… |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| mood noun | /muːd/ | A mental or emotional state, composure. |
| nowhere adverb | /ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/ | In no place. |
| rhythm noun | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter. |
| surroundings noun | /səˈɹaʊndɪŋz/ | The area surrounding someone or something, together with the objects and circumstances in the vicinity; the environment or ambiance. |
| notebook noun | /ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/ | A book (physical or digital) in which notes or memoranda are written. |
| ordinary adjective | /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/ | Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases. |
| inspiration noun | /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of breathing. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| explore verb | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | To examine or investigate something systematically. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. | |
| write down verb | To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something. |
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 | have been trying · have been sitting |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may be · may focus · may still be |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | your best |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start following · practice working · keep practicing |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, dish /dɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/, ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like creativity, desk, solve.
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.