Transcript: “Listening Time” Episode 77

Welcome to the Listening Time podcast. Hey everybody, this is Conner, and
you're listening to Episode 77 of the Listening Time podcast. I hope you're all doing
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Alright, so in today's episode, we're going to talk about being spontaneous. This
is a fun topic, because people are very di erent in this regard. Some people are very
spontaneous, and some people aren't spontaneous at all in their daily lives. So, we'll
talk about being spontaneous in a few di erent areas of our lives, and we'll talk about
the advantages and disadvantages of that.
Remember that you have the transcript available for this episode. That's in the
Episode Description below the episode. So, click on that if you need it, and listen as
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member who's learning English. Alright, let's get started.
Okay, so let's talk about being spontaneous. So, what is spontaneity?
Spontaneity refers to being able to think of things, do things, and make decisions in the
moment without needing to follow a pre-designed plan. So, that's being spontaneous.
So, I rst want to talk about being spontaneous throughout the week, during our
weekdays, from Monday to Friday, when most people are busy and have to work and
have a set schedule sometimes. Let's talk about that.
So, some people follow a strict plan during the week, during weekdays, and
they follow this plan, and they organize their day the night before. And they try to follow
this plan step by step, and they look at their agenda and see everything that they're
supposed to be doing that day. And they do those things that they've written down for
themselves. And other people might not do this. Other people might be more
spontaneous during the week. They might make decisions on what to do in the
moment. So, maybe they have a plan, or maybe they don't, but regardless, they can
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 just decide to do things based on how they're feeling, based on how their day is going,
and they can make decisions on what to do in that moment.
So, I'm a pretty organized person. I like to follow plans, and I like to decide what
I'm going to do the next day, the day before. So, I like to know what I'm supposed to
be doing when I wake up in the morning. I don't like to wake up on weekdays and not
know what I need to be doing and have to decide what to do in the moment. I'm not
very comfortable with that. And so, I'm de nitely on the other side of the spectrum. In
English, when we use the word "spectrum," we're saying that there is a range of
di erent options. So, for example, if you're on the left side of the political spectrum, or
you're on the right side of the political spectrum, this means you're either on the left or
on the right in terms of politics. So, a spectrum is just a range of di erent options when
it comes to one topic.
So, I'm on the other side of the spontaneity spectrum when it comes to
weekdays. I don't like to be super spontaneous. I prefer to follow a plan. But I de nitely
recognize that there are some advantages of being spontaneous in this context, during
weekdays. Let's talk about a few of them. So, being spontaneous during weekdays can
help you be less bored. I often get bored with just following my schedule and doing the
same thing every weekday, for example. And so, being spontaneous can help to keep
things fresh, as we might say, keep things new.
And so, sometimes, when I decide to do things di erent from how I planned
them, it becomes more interesting. I'm able to have more fun during that day. So, for
example, once in a while, my wife and I might suddenly decide to go to a cafe on a
weekday, maybe in the evening or something. And this is de nitely not something that I
normally plan to do. But once in a while, it happens, and it really makes our day much
better because we get to do something fun and go somewhere unexpected, and it
allows us to have a little bit of fun during the week. And so, I can de nitely see how
spontaneous decisions like that can spice up my weekday a little bit. In English, when
we say that you "spice something up," this means that you make something more
interesting or fun. You spice it up. So, this can spice up my weekday a little bit when
we decide to do that in a spontaneous way.
And I think that being spontaneous during weekdays can help people be more
creative, and maybe, help them solve problems better. So, when you get out of the
normal routine and you decide to do something new, this can de nitely stimulate your
brain in a new way. For example, I know people that can suddenly decide to go for a
run, for example. And when they do this, it allows their brain to start to think of new
things, new ideas, and solve problems. And just changing their situation suddenly
allows them to be more creative in this way. So, I think that being spontaneous during
weekdays de nitely has an advantage as well.
However, I think that there can be a few disadvantages of being spontaneous
during weekdays. For example, you might not be as productive if you try to be
spontaneous all the time, because you might not follow your plan that you have set.
And this means that you won't nish all the things that you thought you might nish or
that you should nish. And so, even though you get some advantages, you might also
be sacri cing some work that you should be doing. And so, it might lead to less
productivity in some instances.
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 And one thing that could happen is you might be a little bit less disciplined. It
might get you accustomed to not following a schedule and just doing things according
to how you feel. And so, you might stop being so disciplined, and you might not like
following a schedule anymore because it might seem boring. So, it can maybe have a
negative e ect on discipline in general. But I'm sure that you can negate these
disadvantages in di erent ways. In English, when we say that you "negate" something,
this means that you eliminate the e ect of something. So, in this case, I'm saying that
you can eliminate the possibility of these disadvantages in di erent ways. So, I'm sure
you can still be disciplined and still be very productive while also being spontaneous
during the week.
And how about on weekends? So, some people like to plan their Saturdays and
their Sundays, and they like to know what they're going to be doing before the
weekend comes. And other people just wake up on Saturday morning, and then they
make those decisions in the moment. I'm the type of person who plans my weekends.
That's probably not a surprise for you. And I like planning my weekends because, as I
mentioned, I like knowing what I'm going to do. I like being able to wake up with a plan
in mind, or a purpose in mind. And this is very important for me. So, that's something
that I do even on weekends.
And I'm sure for some of you, you don't like how this sounds. You would prefer
to be more spontaneous and decide what you want to do based on your mood that
day. And I can de nitely understand that. And I think there are a lot of advantages to
that. Let me talk about a few of them. I think that being spontaneous on weekends can
lead you to do new things and experience new things because when you plan your
weekend, you might close yourself o a little bit. You might limit yourself in a way, vs. if
you allow your present mood to dictate what you're going to do, you might decide to
do something that you never would have planned, and that can open you up to having
a new experience and doing something fun.
And I think overall, you can do funner things if you don't plan your weekend if
you go and do things based on the mood that you're in, because you're paying
attention to what you're feeling in the moment, and maybe you had planned to go to
the zoo, but in reality, you're not really excited about going there, and you don't feel like
going there when Saturday arrives. And you feel more like going to an amusement
park, for example. And so, if you change your plans and decide to spontaneously
decide where you're going to go, then you could have more fun because you're more in
the mood to do that other thing. So, you're following your mood, and therefore, you're
able to have more fun based on what type of mood you're in. So, I think that can
de nitely be another advantage.
However, I think there are a couple disadvantages as well, because I think
people who don't plan their weekends might end up doing fewer things on the
weekend. They might end up getting o to a late start in the morning. In English, when
we say that you "get o to a late start," this just means that you maybe wake up late,
and you don't get ready very early, and by the time you're ready to do something, it's
already later in the day. So, you might get o to a late start if you don't have a plan.
And this can cause you to have less time to do fun things.
This often happens when I'm staying with my in-laws or they're staying with me.
And we often get o to a late start in the morning. And then, we're a little more limited
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 in terms of which breakfast restaurant we can go to in the morning, because here in my
city, some of the good breakfast restaurants get very very crowded if you don't go on
time, if you go a little bit late. So, this just happened a couple of weeks ago. We
weren't able to go to any of the really good breakfast restaurants that we really like
because everyone woke up late and didn't know what they wanted to do. And then,
when we decided to go to a breakfast restaurant, we had a lot fewer choices, because
it was already late, and the restaurants were really crowded.
And so, because we didn't have that plan before, and we didn't follow that plan,
we missed out on going to one of the breakfast restaurants that we really like. So, that
could be an example of spontaneity being a disadvantage on weekends. However,
there are many ways to negate or mitigate these disadvantages, and spontaneity can
be a very good thing on weekends.
Alright, lastly, let's talk about being spontaneous when you travel. I'm a very
organized traveler. I plan all of my trips very carefully. I plan almost every place that I
want to go, every restaurant that I want to try. I'm very extreme when it comes to this.
Other people are on the opposite end of the spectrum, and they hate planning their
vacations, and they want to be spontaneous and decide what to do in the moment.
And I completely understand that side as well. I think that both have their advantages
and disadvantages.
So, some advantages of being spontaneous while traveling: First of all, it allows
you to have new kinds of experiences that you might not have otherwise, because
when you plan your trip, you limit yourself a little bit, and you only plan things that you
can think of beforehand and that you can nd on the internet or in guide books or
things like that. And so, you might limit yourself and not leave yourself open to doing
di erent kinds of things that you discover when you're actually traveling. And so, that
could be an advantage of being spontaneous. When you're at the place, when you're in
the city, you might discover that there's an experience that you can have, and you just
do it even though you didn't plan on that.
And being spontaneous can also help you meet new people when you travel.
You might be open to talking to people that you see when you're traveling. And maybe
you can actually do things with those people and go places with those people. And
being spontaneous also allows you to just wander around. In English, when we say the
word "wander," we're saying that you go around, you walk around without a
destination. You're just walking and enjoying the journey without having an actual
destination in mind. So, you can wander around without stressing about needing to be
somewhere or do something at a certain time. You can just enjoy everything around
you. You don't get trapped by any plans that you made. You can just enjoy the
moment, wander around, and not feel that stress. So, that's de nitely an advantage of
being spontaneous when traveling.
However, I do think that there are a few disadvantages. For example, some
people might do less, they might do fewer things, because they're very spontaneous,
and they don't make plans that they follow. And so, they might not do as many things
because they don't plan a lot of things. They just wake up when they want to wake up.
They get going whenever they feel like it. They might get o to a late start, and they
might have less time to do things, or they just might not know what they want to do.
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 And I've had this before where I didn't have a day planned, for example. And
when I woke up that day, on that trip, I had no idea what to do that day. And so, we
had to start looking online and trying to nd something for that day. So, that can
de nitely happen if you don't plan ahead. And another disadvantage might be that you
have to pay more for tickets if you don't buy things in advance, if you don't book tours
in advance, or whatever. If you just spontaneously decide to go to some museum one
day, you might have to pay more, or maybe there aren't any tickets available that day,
so you can de nitely run into situations like that if you're very spontaneous and you just
decide what to do in the moment.
So, there are a couple disadvantages, but I'm sure a lot of you prefer this style of
travel. And I de nitely understand that. I wish I could be more spontaneous when
traveling. But to be honest, I really like planning my trips. This is very fun for me. So, I
think I'll continue doing it the way I do it, and then, maybe open myself up to being a
little more spontaneous during the vacation and allowing for a little bit more
spontaneity. And maybe I just won't plan everything. I'll just plan most of the trip.
Alright, why don't we stop there for today? I hope this episode was interesting
for you. Remember that you can become a Listening Time VIP now if you want to ask
me your questions and have me respond to your questions in video format. You can
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And of course, remember to use the transcript for this episode if you need it.
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this episode, and I'll talk to you on the next episode of Listening Time.
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