One of the things I really love about being a teacher is the number of times you get to make a fresh start: new academic year, new calendar year, new term, first day back after half term etc.
At these junctures, I quite often convince myself it will all be different this time, that I'll get up and run every morning, that I'll crack my marking on the day the work's handed in, that I'll scour the blogs before flopping in front of the TV and so on... Sometimes these things stick, more often than not they don't. But that doesn't stop me trying...
Here are a few of the things I'd like to get done professionally and personally this year:
- Finish my EdD (having handed in the first draft of my thesis by February at the latest (I'm studying senior leaders' use of Twitter).
- Blog more frequently - once a fortnight perhaps once I get into the groove? This little exercise will build me up some credits!
- Be more disciplined about (not) checking my e-mail. It is inefficient to be checking it all the time. I want to start working through e-mail in two big batches: once in the morning, once in the evening - no more. It might annoy some people but my productivity should go through the roof.
- Complete the Bob Graham round next summer with my wife.
- Spend one night a week doing something completely unrelated to work (like talking to my wife a bit more!)
- Write an article for publication in Conference and Common Room.
- Having been blown away by the generosity of other educators online this year I will be making a concerted effort to share more of what I do via my blog (hosted by postach.io) and/or via Twitter. An average of a tweet a day doesn't seem unrealistic.
This post is the first of what I hope will be 30 posts throughout September following my decision to have a go at @TeachThought's blogging challenge.