I believe this is the foundation of creating a language learning plan. I'm sure that you have heard of SMART goals: * Specific * Measurable * Achievable * Realistic * Timely Let's start with specific, say you want to learn French. This is way too broad of a goal and you'll eventually hit a dead end. Ask yourself why you want to learn French. Or what concept in the French language do you want to master. You can pick something like speaking French for business or learning irregular verb conjugations. The next one is measurable where you keep track of yourself. If your goal is to learn how to have a basic conversation, then you'll need to learn phrases to introduce yourself. Achievable is where you put a number on your goal. You might want to improve your French vocabulary, so you can learn 5-10 new words a week. Being realistic about your language study is one of the key factors. If you are working 40+ hours a week and have a family, it's unlikely that you can dedicate 6 hours a day to language study. If you don't look at your daily life and match it up to your study plan, you'll be less likely to succeed. The last goal is timely which is putting an expiration date on your plan. If you give yourself 1 month to learn up to 100+ new words that put some pressure on you. It's also a great way to hold yourself accountable for your learning. And if you fall short, don't worry. It allows you to revise your plan.