What putting off learning a skill or language costs you
Skills grow with hours, not intentions. This counts the hours that waiting has cost you so far.
Your numbers
Common answers are filled in. Change the ones you know.
Typical: 150 minutes. Put in yours.
Your own guess. Set it to 0 if you're not sure.
It only changes the order on your statement.
What waiting costs you
65 hours
You'd have about 65 hours of practice by now
That's 43% of the 150 hours you think it needs. At your planned pace, the whole goal takes about 60 weeks from the day you start.
Your small stepDo one 10-minute session today, and put tomorrow's session in your calendar with a time and a place.
How we worked this out
- Gap: 150 minutes planned minus 0 done = 150 minutes a week.
- 150 minutes × 26 weeks ÷ 60 = 65 hours.
- 65 ÷ 150 hours = 43% of your goal.
- How much it matters to you: 7 out of 10. It only changes the order on your statement.
Sources
- Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006): Writing a simple 'When ___, I will ___' plan makes people noticeably more likely to follow through (a medium-to-large effect across 94 studies).
How it works
The gap is the minutes a week you planned minus the minutes you really do. Multiply by the weeks you've waited, and divide by 60 for hours.
If you have a goal in hours, we show how much of it you'd have done by now.
Writing down when and where you'll practise makes people noticeably more likely to follow through.
Sources
Questions people ask
How many hours does a language take?
It depends on the language and the level you want. Use your own guess, or the number your course gives.
What if I can only do 10 minutes?
Ten minutes a day is over an hour a week. Small and steady still adds up.
Putting off more than one thing?
Pick up to five and get your Delay Statement: what to do first, what can wait, and one small step for today.
Want a nudge to act on it?
The app turns what you're putting off into a short list for each day: your Top 3 and one small step at a time. It's free.
We show what waiting costs on your own plans. We never tell you what to buy or invest in. Rules and averages change, so check the official pages before you plan anything.