I must admit that January has been a difficult month. A number of issues at school around key IT systems have put a high degree of focus on part of my team requiring them to seriously step up and take on new challenges. The last two weeks of January have been particularly difficult as we have struggled to fix the issues which have arose plus where we have found it difficult to identify alternative solutions. Now, as February begins, however, after many days of struggle, solutions have been found and these solutions not only represent a solution to the problems but also an improvement on the setup as it had been previously. I must admit to having become stressed during January and also to being annoyed at times as to my inability to resolve the issues in hand. I also acknowledge having seen things as a “Failure” to find a solution as opposed to a “not yet” moment. I need to be more conscious of this in future as my behaviours are what people see as opposed to my intentions so if I talk the talk I need to be seen to walk the walk. I have also noticed myself using an old favourite phrase of mine: “The problem is…..”. This is definitely something I need to knock on the head, as stating the problems will most likely sound either negative or obstructive in search for solutions. Am not sure if “the challenge is…” sounds any better but the main thing will be to take care to avoid labeling inconveniences, difficulties, momentary challenges, minor deviations from the plan, etc. as “problems”.
Professional Development
The above problems have led to me getting more directly involved with some of the schools IT systems. This has meant dusting off my old SQL skills and learning some new software solutions, etc. It has been fun to get directly involved although at times frustrating such as when I spend around half a day updating a tables data just to find out that an automated routine deleted the tables data every evening. This goes to indicate the importance of documenting systems, something that is generally left to last and therefore often missed out altogether.
I must note that the above wasn’t an area I had foreseen as professional development I would be doing this year however it has certainly challenged me and forced me to learn new things. Challenge was one of things I had identified in my pledges so I am happy in this area at least for now. I would also say that this highlights some concepts in the book “Open” which I have been reading recently in that my learning was in a time which suited me plus via online resources and forums as opposed to more traditional training or PD models.
Fitness
On a personal note my efforts to maintain a minimum of 30mins exercise a day in the form of walking , have been successful. I doubt I will ever manage to do kilometres worth of jogging in the morning before work, as some do, however at least I am making an effort and making some, albeit modest, progress.
Reading
My reading in January has seen me complete two books in Open by David Price and The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely. I have also done a little additional reading around data science and python programming. The one thing I am looking forward to is having the garden at my new house done and to being able to sit out when the spring finally arises, to read a book or two. Am sure I will be sharing a few photos of me sunning myself, with a beer and a good book in the months to come.
Journaling
My journaling started off particularly well this month with me putting aside time to take notes on my experiences of each week. Sadly as other issues arose as indicated in my opening paragraph, this has dropped by the wayside. As I reflect on this the urgent/important quadrant diagram jumps to mind. The things I have focussed on during some of this month have been the urgent items and have also been important however journaling, although not urgent, may be very important in the long run in providing me something to reflect on. Without a record to reflect on I am at the mercy of my incomplete and often inaccurate recollections of things. Any attempt to derive improvement is negatively impacted upon by the resulting inaccuracies or omissions. I will need to try and ensure I make a greater effort to secure my journaling time against other needs and tasks which may encroach.
In Conclusion
I cannot believe that the first month of 2018 has already been and gone, that one twelfth of the year is gone. As I often say, “onwards and upwards”!
Technology and Learning