Well, a day that started out looking a bit grim, turned out quite well.
If I haven't yet won complete submission from preterite irregular verbs, I think I have at least wrestled them to the ground.
I now have a mnemonic schema for remembering every one of their patterns — and all that remains is its consisent application and embedding in my memory.
Review
As the routine checklist attests, it was well into the afternoon, before I reallly got going today. Not least, because I was determined not to waste the entire day, by forcing myself to wake after only a few hours sleep.
In the past, I've followed the scientific recommendation that you deal with timezone woes by sticking to your nomal diurnal cycle. But I've found that it only works when I'm engaged in the hussle and bussle of human interaction.
When the task at hand is concentrated solo learning — doing without sleep is a killer.
It makes the effort of sticking to the cycle pointless — because I learn little, all of it superficially, and I am constantly nodding-off and getting distracted.
Any benefit from a painful but quick return to routine — is offset by the catastrophic drop in concentration, morale and motivation.
And those negative effects can be worse — actually extending the time needed to fully recover my routine.
As it happens, I got in quite a lot of concentrated work between 1300 and 1900 — at least 5 hours. Not to be sniffed at, for New Year's Day.
The one notable failure was to ride my bike. Following yesterday's lessons, I thought I'd use the day to catch-up on Spanish exercises and cycle away from bar noise in the evening.
As it turned out, there was no bar noise and the amount of progress before 1900 persuaded me to reward myself with a couple of extra episodes of 'Justified' instead.
To avoid any misunderstanding, let me be clear that Raylan Givens and all the other hillbillies speak Spanish in the version I'm watching.
Routine Checklist
Legend
- Ticks — right activity on time
- Crosses — not done to schedule
- Hyphens — not applicable to currrent routine configuration
| Task | M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0730 — Get going | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| 0845 — Session 1 | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | |
| 1015 — Break | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| 1030 — Session 2 | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | |
| 1200 — Dinner | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| 1245 — Session 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 1415 — Break | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | |
| 1430 — Session 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 1600 — Transition | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 1630 - Session 5 | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 1800 — Tea | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | |
| 1830 — Maintenance | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 2000 — Relax | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | |
| 2230 — Review, uwind | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | |
| 2330 — Bed | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
Learning Tasks Checklist
| Task | M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading comprehension | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Read aloud | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Just read | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Word & phrase exercises | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Sentence exercises | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Socratic dialogue | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| A song | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Aural comprehension | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Verb exercises | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Preposition exercises | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | |
| Pronoun exercises | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | |
| Conjunctions | - | - | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Eng.→Spa. translation | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Spa.→Eng. translation | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Physical exercise | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Subbed video | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Non-subbed video | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Research lang. acquisition | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | List 'issues' | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Prepare materials | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Review this checklist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |