A Coffee Break with Mark

Before you study

The four things to do in the two minutes before you sit down: the ones that decide whether the session actually happens.

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What's on the sheet

Whether a study session works is usually decided before you learn a single word, in the two minutes before you sit down. Here’s the two-minute checklist.

1

Be realistic about the time

Plan for the ten minutes you’ll actually take, not the hour you won’t. Ten focused minutes beat a vague hour every time.

2

Choose one small aim

One clear thing you can tick off: “the imperfect of conoscere”, not “the past tense”. Write it down the night before.

3

Decide where and when

Pick the place, the kitchen table or a favourite chair, and put the time in your diary like any other appointment.

4

Have everything ready

Notebook out, episode downloaded, app open. Remove every little obstacle between you and the language.

There's a video too

The full episode walks through the whole thing over a coffee. There's a new one every week.

Watch the episode