It’s been a busy January and I can’t believe how quickly time has flown. As such I thought it might be a good opportunity to take stock and do a little bit of reflection using my 2023 pledges as a starting point.
Podcast
I set a plan for releasing a podcast of at least 6 to 8 episodes at some point in 2023. This has led to a discussion with a colleague, Ian Stockbridge, where we have been discussing some sort of collaboration for a while now however never managed to actually put aside time and make anything happen. In January however we both have put time aside and started a little Podcast project with 5 episodes already recorded and a few more planned. As such it looks like my plan to get a podcast released is well on its way and likely to see fruition and the release of episodes in Feb/Mar this year.
Time Management
Am not sure much has changed on the time management front as January has certainly flown by. I do however hope I have started to build some new more effective time management habits however only time will tell.
Running
It was a ropey start to January with no running at all done in the first week however I picked up in week 2 and by the end of the month had managed 12 runs and 65km. The 65km mark is higher than the 50km per month I planned, but would see me again break the 750km mark as I did in 2021 and 2022. As such this is progressing well.
Reading
Managed one book so far in January, mainly due to a train journey which allowed me to get a significant amount of reading in. Continuing to read will be very much dependent on my finding the relevant opportunities and time in my day as we progress through the remainder of the year. I suspect this is one pledge which I may fall short on.
Big Picture
I have already taken the step to roll smaller tasks together however I still think I am being drawn to more operational rather than strategic matters. I suspect this is something I will need to continue to work on during the course of the year.
Holidays and Experiences
January hasn’t provided too many opportunities however I already have a couple of plans which I am looking to put in place in relation to building experiences and arranging holidays. I am also trying to ensure I note any achievements so I am better able to reflect when, in the future, I look back on 2023.
Contributions to Edu and Tech
I have already had a few opportunities including a podcast, a webinar and also some guides I have been involved in producing. In terms of the remainder of the year there are a few events I hope to be involved in plus a number of different ideas and projects I am actively seeking to explore. I have also enjoyed contributing to discussion in relation to Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT as I see such potential for the use of AI solutions like this however I also see significant risks which we need to consider and seek to mitigate. January has also furnished me the opportunity to attend my first face to face conference of the year in a Microsoft and ANME event at which I was an attendee, finding it to be useful and interesting. Overall, I hope that when I look back, 2023 will have been a good year in terms of my contributions to education and technology in education.
Work
I have enjoyed spending a bit of time discussing digital citizenship with various year group assemblies both in December but continuing into January. This is definitely something I want to build on going forward. Equally enjoyable have been the esports groups I have been involved in who have positively took on competition among themselves, and who hopefully may consider moving on to compete with other schools/colleges in the 2024 season.
Conclusion
I have achieved more in January than I thought I would have done, albeit this means I have been very busy indeed at times. In turn this has meant time has flown by, however it has also meant I have not had the reflective time I would have liked but sadly you cant have it both ways. If I had more time stopping and thinking, I doubt I would have had the time to achieve as much. As such I will need to keep an eye on this balance and check it continues to be at a point I am happy with. I note as I write this that the start of feb saw me fall ill with a cold; Was this just due to weather or maybe just trying to do a little too much; I am not sure.
In terms of new opportunities and experiences I think I can already identify three in my collaborative podcast, a little consultative work and also in the initial discussions regarding a conference in Europe at which I will hopefully contribute later in the year. Given only one month gone, I think this is good progress and something I can continue to build on.
So, 1 month down, 11 months to go……..onwards to the rest of 2023!
Technology and Learning