If you think you have one or all of these problems, it’s time to make some notes on just how good or bad your listening is. Begin by keeping paper and pen handy and making a list of specific listening errors you catch yourself making.
Each time you note a specific listening error you’ve made, try to recall what you were doing at the time that caused the error. As you remember and visualize the cause, categorize the error under one of the above habits. By keeping a careful record, you may discover the listening mistakes you make most often. Work, then, to avoid these. Fortunately, we can break our bad listening habits, but before we can do that, we need to be aware that they exist.