English with Kirsty – episode 287
What does it mean when we say we don’t have time?
You can listen to episode 287 here:
I’ve recently come back from a week away and I spent some time reflecting on time. How I organise mine. What happens when you try to cram too much in and how that leaves no room for spontanaity. How having a different relationship with my to-do-list would make me happier! It’s a week since I recorded the episode now and so far, the changes that I put in place are still working!
I also started thinking about what it means when we say that we have no time for things. Sometimes it just means that we’re in a super busy period and it feels as though we don’t have time for anything. But I mean more generarlly. Are we really saying “this isn’t a priority for me right now”? or “I don’t actually want to do this thing, but it’s easier to say I don’t have time”? Or “I’d like to, but I don’t have time because I need to set some different boundaries with myself or others”? Or maybe it’s more of a case of how we organise our time and build things into our schedule to make sure there’s room for them.
We don’t need to justify ourselves, but at least for me, I found that exploring what I really mean with these four words – I don’t have time – gave me some interesting insights into my own time management!
I also talked about my upcoming programme for freelance translators who want to reactivate their spoken English. You can find out more about the programme and, if you’re listening to this before 22nd October 2025, you can find the details for my introduction event here where you can meet me, find out about the programme, and meet some of the other people who are interested in participating. If this time doesn’t work for you or you’re listening after this event has passed, send me a message anyway because it’s a rolling programme and there will be future groups.
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How might we not be ourselves in another language and what can we do about it?
I believe that learning to be yourself, in your first or any other language, is a process! It’s a life-long journey of self-discovery!
But it’s true that, when we’re using additional languages, we sometimes don’t show the full extent of who we are. Maybe we don’t have the words or maybe we use strategies that make life easier in the short-term, but don’t allow our unique personalities or ideas to shine.
I’m talking about five of those strategies today. My clients use them, but I’ve used all of them too at some point. I explain why they can be a problem and what we can do to challenge ourselves to move past them.
Do you have any language coping strategies that you want to rely on less in the future?
You can listen to the episode here: https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode280
I also mention my mentoring programme – Discover your voice in English: https://englishwithkirsty.com/discover-your-voice-in-english
Send me a message if you’d like to arrange a call where we can discuss whether the programme is what you’re looking for so that you can discover and use your voice in English – effectively and in a way that feels natural.
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