怎樣擠出時間學習新知識?

I recently read a piece about a guy in his late 30s who took up learning guitar as a hobby and actually became a proficient player. Then I read about a young man who decided to devote an hour a day learning about something just for fun - including banjo, juggling and astrophysics.

我最近看到一篇文章，講的是一個快四十的男人開始學習彈吉他，原本純屬業餘愛好，最後竟成了一名嫺熟的吉他演奏家。之後，我又看到一篇文章，寫的是一個男青年決定每天花一小時學點什麼，僅僅爲了自娛自樂，包括五絃琴、戲法和天體物理學。

Those pieces revved me up to go out and learn something new. Although I love that journalism allows me to dabble in a range of topics, I miss the thrill of structured, focused education. I'm not talking about going back to school full-time for a degree program, but taking a course or even reading a book to learn something just for the sake of it, such as a new language or skill. (Italian! Guitar! Indian cooking!) I don't need to become a master-the basics are fine with me.

Getty Images你能擠出時間學習新東西嗎？這些文章啓發我走出去，學些新東西。新聞事業使我可以涉獵各種不同的題材，我喜歡這一點，但我也懷念系統性、專注式教育的樂趣。我指的並不是重返校園做個全職學生並拿個學位，而是完全出於興趣去修一門課程，或是看書自學些什麼，比如學一門新的語言或技能。（意大利語！吉他！印度菜！）我不需要成爲大師，只要學些基礎的東西就可以了。

Easier said than done, of course. The problem isn't just that my aging brain makes it harder to absorb new information. It's squeezing in the time.

當然，說起來容易做起來難。問題不僅僅是我老化的大腦更加難以吸收新的知識，時間也擠不出來。

But when you think about it, a dedicated hour or even half-hour a day isn't that hard to fit in; I surely accumulate that much time watching TV, reading, exercising or futzing round the house. Maybe I could listen to an instructional tape while jogging? Or read some educational nonfiction before bed instead of my go-to novels or mysteries? Or take a web course instead of vegging out to 'Modern Family'?

不過，當你細想一下，每天擠出一小時甚至半小時並不太難；我看電視、看書、鍛鍊或在家裏閒混的時間就足夠了。或許我可以在慢跑的同時聽教學錄音帶？或是在睡前看些有教育性的非小說類圖書，而不是看口水書或推理小說？或是修一門網絡課程，而不是沉溺於《摩登家庭》(Modern Family)？

Despite my gung-ho intentions to learn, I have a feeling that I may simply be too undisciplined-and tired-at the end of the day to make this happen at this young-kid stage of my life.

儘管有着學習的強烈願望，我卻有種感覺：我可能管不住自己或每天下班累得精疲力盡，難以在我尚年輕的時候實現這些想法。

It's not just me, either. My husband recently signed up for Rosetta Stone to learn Brazilian Portuguese. His initial enthusiasm has now waned and while he still wants to complete the course, work, family and sleep needs have made it tough to master. He's also trying to teach himself programming through Codecademy, which provides free online courses.

也不僅僅只有我是這樣。我丈夫最近註冊了語言教學公司Rosetta Stone的巴西葡萄牙語課程。他最初的熱情如今已經消退，儘管他仍希望完成課程，但工作、家庭和睡眠需要使他難以應付。他還力圖通過Codecademy免費網絡課程自學編程。

Readers, have any of you done any adult education or learned a new skill or hobby as an adult? How did you find the time?

讀者們，你們成年後是否曾進修過或學門新技能或愛好？你是如何擠出時間的？