📙 Part 2: Describe a way/change that helps you save a lot of time

You should say: what it is, how you implement it, how difficult it is, and explain how you feel about the way/change.

This episode's vocabulary

Planner (noun) - a list or chart with information that is an aid to planning.

To stand out (phrasal verb) - to be very noticeable.

To reflect (verb) - to think carefully, especially about possibilities and opinions.

Task (noun) - a piece of work to be done, especially one done regularly, unwillingly, or with difficulty.

Routine (noun) - a usual or fixed way of doing things.

Schedule (verb) - to arrange that an event or activity will happen at a particular time.

To catch someone off guard (idiom) - to surprise someone by doing something that they are not expecting or ready for.

Time-consuming (adj.) - taking a lot of time to do or complete.

To lie ahead of (someone) (phrasal verb) - to be in the future.

Beforehand (adverb) - earlier (than a particular time).

To note (verb) - to take notice of, give attention to, or make a record of something.

Extension (noun) - the fact of reaching, stretching, or continuing; the act of adding to something in order to make it bigger or longer.

To invest (verb) - to put money or effort into something to make a profit or achieve a result.

To get more out of something - to receive additional benefits from something.

Questions and Answers

R: I mean, I find having a diary planner to be the most useful thing in my life. I have a new one every year, and they're usually bought from the same shop with similar colours, like black or dark blue, although my most recent one is actually silver to help it stand out. It's like a big notebook with a list of all the dates for the calendar year in it. But I heavily modify mine to reflect my daily tasks and routines, I also add in key events on the dates that they are scheduled for and some notes to remind me to prepare for them, so I'm not caught off guard by something I should have known about before it happens. When it comes to how I go about doing it, I took some time to think about all the tasks I need to do every day, and just write them down in the diary as soon as I get it. It's a bit time-consuming, but after about three days, it's almost done for the entire year. And then I can add in all the day-specific things that I need to do, like laundry and finalizing accounts and so on. It requires a lot of advanced planning, but once it's done, I feel more certain about how my year will go and what lies ahead in the weeks and months to come. I wouldn't say it's a particularly difficult thing to do. It just takes a lot of concentration and preparation beforehand, but after that, then it's just a case of doing the tasks listed there and being careful to note any changes and prepare for them beforehand. I suppose that's more about memory than actually using the diary, but they're hard to separate, in my opinion, since the planner really is an extension of my ability to remember things, or to remember to do things, at least. I have to say, I've felt pretty good about things since I've made this change. It seems a lot of time, or rather, it needs a lot of time invested to prepare, and some people might prefer to use their phones or calendar app on their computer to do that. And I have them too. I just get more out of using something physical. There's less risk this way, in my opinion. If I hadn't started doing it, I don't think I'd be so organized, and life would be a lot less enjoyable.

M: And what do your friends think about it?

R: Well, my friends always make fun of me, but they're not nearly as organized as I am.

Discussion

M: Right, dear listener. So the task is describe a way that helps you save a lot of time, or describe a change that helps you to save a lot of time. So something like you changed and it helps you save a lot of time. Rory told us about his diary planner. And rory's diary planner is wow, you should see it. Dear listener, it's so well organized. It's like out of this world. Cause Rory writes down pretty much everything. And he plans his life like a year ahead. Rory, so you have plans for that pretty much next Christmas?

R: Yes, pretty much. Until the end of the year.

M: You can say that I find having a diary planner to be the most useful thing in my life, or to be the most useful change I've made. So I've made this change. I've started organizing my life using a diary planet. And what is this planner? Is it like a diary? Is it like an usual diary?

R: Yes, pretty much. Although a diary is something people usually associate with writing down your thoughts and feelings, or a journal in some cases. Whereas a planner is more about planning events in advance.

M: I have a new one every year, because it's a book, it's like a diary, like a notebook. So I have a new diary, or I have a new one every year, and they are bought from the same shop. Ooh, and my most recent planner is silver, to help it stand out. So this book stands out because of its color. Nice. It's a big notebook, a big, beautiful notebook with a list of all the dates for the calendar.

R: For the calendar year. So the calendar year is the year from, well, from January into December. Well, we also have an academic year. In some countries, that's from September to June. In other countries, it's from August until July or other variations. There are different countries with different timetables.

M: You can say that I change this notebook. So I modify this notebook to reflect my daily tasks and routines. So I write down my daily tasks, what I need to do every day, and my daily routines. So again, what I do every day. I also add in key events. So to add in something. So pretty much you add something in there. Key events, key dates. And my activities are scheduled. So everything is scheduled. I have a schedule of everything I do. I take some notes to remind me to do something, or I note down things.

R: Yep, so I write the event, and then usually I note down something about it before or the week before, so I'm ready, or I start preparing for it then.

M: So I take some notes to remind me to prepare for certain activities so I am not caught off guard. So if you are caught off guard, what happens?

R: It just means that something takes you by surprise, which is actually another advanced expression. It just means that it's a surprise that you are unprepared for, or something that you are unprepared for.

M: Catch someone off guard. C-2, band nine proficiency. Yes, to surprise someone by doing something that they are not expecting or they are not ready for. So I was caught off guard when I was asked this question at the exam. So I wasn't prepared. I was surprised. Like wow. Or the news caught me completely off guard. I didn't know what to say. It was surprising. When it comes to how I go about doing it, it takes some time to organize my diary, my planner. One of the bullet points was, how you implement it. So how kind of you go about this change, this way of doing things. And you say that when it comes to how I go about doing it. So how I do this, how I implement this change. It usually takes some time to think about all the tasks. I take notes, I take detailed notes. I think about my daily tasks, and I write them down in the diary. And it's a bit time consuming. So it takes a lot of time. It's a bit time consuming. Rory does it for three days, dear listener. So pretty much he plans a year of his life during three days. And really, like I saw this amazing book, and it's wow, it's a treasure, it's like, imagine that you have all your life written down. It's just, yeah. I add in all the day specific things. So Rory adds in little details and notes. And there are things like laundry, when Rory washes his clothes, finalizing accounts. So he writes, writes it down, like, okay, to finalize my accounts. And it requires a lot of advanced planning. So certain activities require a lot of advanced planning. So planning beforehand, planning in advance, but once it's done, I feel more certain about my life. So once everything is planned, once it's done, I feel more certain about my life, yeah. More kind of confident. What lies ahead. So when you say that something lies ahead, it's pretty much something like what we have in the future. So to be in the future, lie ahead. Like we don't know what lies ahead. So we don't know what will happen in the future. Or, for example, we don't know what lies ahead of you, what will happen in the future. It takes a lot of concentration. So I should be focused, because I, well, I write down my life, and it takes a lot of preparation beforehand. Okay? So before it. And what preparation beforehand? Like you could just sit down and you write things, you plan things?

R: Yeah, so I just have to sit and keep focused on what it is I'm putting down in the diary, which can take a long time, because there's 365 days in a year. But once it's done, then I know what I need to do, so I don't waste time thinking about it.

M: And then it's just a case of doing the tasks listed. So I list the tasks and I complete them. Easy, easy life. And I'm very careful to note any changes and prepare for them beforehand. So Rory plans his life, and then he changes his life. And prepares for the changes.

R: I plan my life and then I live my life.

M: So this planner is an extension of my ability to remember things. So the planner helps me to remember things. I've felt pretty good since I've made this change. So Present Perfect, dear listener. So I've made this change, or I got used to this way of doing things, and since then, I have felt pretty good. It needs a lot of time, investment. So it's time consuming and you need to be organized, but still, some people use their phones or some calendar apps, but Rory uses traditional pen and paper. Okay? And notebook. Yeah, something physical, you know, something that will not get lost or broken or stolen. And you can say that I don't think I would be so organized without it, or I don't think my life would be so enjoyable without it.

R: Yeah, if you're prepared, then you know what you're doing.

M: And now Rory's vocabulary show.

R: Yes, this is the part where I ask Maria questions about the vocabulary and the grammar in my answers. You can play along. We'll leave a small pause after the question, and then Maria will hopefully get the right answer. Sometimes this has been hit and miss. So Maria, question number one. At the beginning, I listed one way of thinking about the year. But what did I call it specifically?

M: It's the calendar year.

R: Yes, the calendar year from January to December. And then I used a special collocation to describe what happens when something takes a lot of time to do.

M: It's a bit time consuming.

R: Excellent. Our next one is a phrase that describes an addition to something. Here it was about my ability to remember things. If I add something to it.

M: An extension of my ability to remember things.

R: Excellent. And the last one, let's talk about grammar. Towards the end, I used a special kind of conditional. But which one was it? And what did it look like?

M: If I hadn't started doing it, I don't think I'd be so organized.

R: Perfect. What conditional is that?

M: Oh, it's a mixed conditional, dear listener, it's C-5. Super advanced.

R: Fantastic. Well done, Maria. 100%.

M: Yay!

R: And we'll see you in part three, where we talk about time saving in general.

M: Hey, hey!

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