Continuing Italian and Spanish and Revisiting Journaling

In my post on journaling, I talked about an idea for keeping your learning on track. And in my post on finishing Pimsleur Italian, I indicated the journaling technique was working well, but that I had been on vacation and would have to see if progress continued when I went back to work.

I'm pleased to report that looking at my journal, I've finished a Pimsleur Spanish lesson every day since returning to work (and over the weekend), and am now 2/3 of the way through the course. While I haven't been expressly tracking it, I've been popping in Berlitz Italian Guaranteed for one lesson a night. And I'm now starting to work my way through Michel Thomas Italian: I'll do the 8 CD course, then the advanced course, just to keep my Italian fresh.

If you study every day on your own through a combination of personal discipline and innate excitement about what you're going to learn next, my hat's off to you and keep doing what you're doing. But if you find yourself being less than constant in your study habits, don't beat yourself up. Try something like my journaling system, or keeping a language log like Josh. What you need is something to make your studies part of your routine, not something you squeeze in. Because self-discipline is nice if you want to prove how focused you are. But otherwise, isn't it better to find a way to put your studies on autopilot so you can apply your energies elsewhere?