You know what’s the funniest thing about me trying to learn something new? I always started like an action hero—with big plans and crazy motivation. “I’m gonna program for 8 hours straight today!” or “I’ll finish this whole design course over the weekend!”

Spoiler: it worked about as well as trying to eat a whole cake—the first two pieces seem like a great idea, then you’re sick for a week.

That’s exactly how I tried to learn English back in Russia. I’d buy this huge textbook, sit down Saturday morning with my coffee and think: “Today I’m doing three lessons!” By lunch, my head was pounding from all the new words, and by evening I’d promise myself I’d definitely continue tomorrow. Tomorrow, of course, never came.

Then I moved to Canada, and English became a survival thing. But even then, I made the same mistake—trying to catch up all at once. I remember downloading Duolingo and deciding to do 5 lessons every day. Lasted exactly 4 days, then gave up for a month.

Everything changed when I figured out something simple: 15 minutes every day beats 5 hours once a week. It’s like brushing your teeth—nobody says “I’ll brush for 3 hours on Sunday and that’ll cover the whole week.”

Now I have a rule: minimum 30 minutes a day on something important. Whether I’m learning a new framework, reading a book, or working on design—that half hour is sacred. Even if my day was complete chaos, I’ll find those 30 minutes.

And you know what? After a year of these “boring” half hours, my Spanish got way better than from all my heroic weekend marathons. Because consistency beats intensity. Always.

My brain doesn’t see this as some big achievement anymore. It’s just part of the day, like breakfast or checking email. No drama, no “starting fresh on Monday” promises. Just doing it. Every day. Slow but steady.

The cool part is—after a couple months you look back and think: “Damn, I can actually understand Spanish memes on Instagram now!” Then you realize the secret wasn’t being a superhero for one day, but being a regular person every day.

So if you want to learn something—forget the marathons. Be the turtle from that story. She didn’t win because she was fast, but because she never stopped.

P.S. My Duolingo streak is 800 days now. And yeah, sometimes it’s literally just 5 minutes before bed when I’m completely wiped out. But I still do it. 🐢