Another guest post on ZenHabits, highlights the part on learning AND doing:
Casual interest can only get you so far – if you just ‘want’ to speak a language, that gives you no edge. Who wouldn’t want that? To make real progress, that want has to become a need.
With focus and your full attention you can learn much quicker
And there is only one way the language will become a true necessity: you need to start speaking it with other people, now.