Goals.

I must confess to my love of sticky notes. You know, the non-specific, unbranded, squared sheet of paper with an adhesive strip on the back. They're perfect for posting ideas and attaching them to the wall. For a couple of years, not consecutively, I would write down my ambitions for the coming 12 months, and have them displayed in my bedroom. Interestingly, the years I didn't do this were far less successful, just generally. 

Now I have this platform. So here we go:
1. #WeeklyBlogChallenge17 - I am aiming to post one blog every weekend in 2017. This is likely my biggest target for the year, and I have a few titles and creative ideas in mind. However, I worry about my commitment. Is it possible to run out of words? Fortunately, there's a glorious network of aid out there! Friends, family, colleagues and pupils, who have been there since the very beginning of teachmrn.com, have been so generous in their support and constructive feedback, leading to the exciting directions this could go in. I'm also proud to be part of a growing network of teaching-types on Twitter and Instagram. If you're ever questioning this profession, head there; it's astounding.

2. Share More - As part of my target above, I want to offer more to my audience. I quite enjoy making and designing solutions to problems and, I imagine, with both you and I in the same field, you might find similar issues. So it would be silly of me not to share my solutions (because I'm always using yours!). At the request of some lovely Twitter followers, I am already preparing to post examples of my planning, and I also want to start sharing opportunities for our school communities to collaborate. We can start with these:

• Booked Mondays - You will find a brand new Booked question posted HERE, where you and your families can begin to engage in the understanding of a text, progressing from the physical, often misunderstood, act of 'reading well'.
• Toolbox Tuesdays - Your students and families will find a new chance to edit and improve my lame writing HERE. Whether it's just pretty boring, or riddled with errors, I wanted to give my learners more options for involvement, and you can join us too!
• Wordy Wednesdays - As a continuation of something I was doing last year, a brand new Maths word problem will appear HERE. My class really got on board with this last year and I was impressed by their effort.
• AuThursdays - Authors' Day will show you a brand new writing prompt HERE! I wanted to provide my class with more opportunities to write, and you're more than welcome to join us!
• Photo Fridays - Back to the Maths, HERE you will find a new Maths challenge every week. As with all the resources above, leave a comment with your initials as your name, and I can't wait to see your responses.

3. Take More Risks - The trouble with the 2 targets above, is that you leave yourself open to a lot of criticism, but in a game of self-improvement, that's a risk worth taking. Many of my resources, in various media, have taken hours to create, so a bad response would be crushing. But the idea that it helps even just one person is far more valuable. I'd like to create a new app this year. I still can't get over each sale of Booked, especially from around the world, and I'm so grateful for the feedback. I'm also presenting a workshop at #LearningFirst later this month. Again, I think I'll learn a lot more from the experience, than anyone sat there will learn from me! (Get the apologies in early!)

4. The Rest - In a time where health and well-being are much publicised, I am looking for more instances to travel, meet people and broaden my horizons with regards to professional opporunities and personal experiences. I am in a lucky position where a lot of my personal worth comes from my professional life, becaused I enjoy what I do. Although, in many ways, that's probably not the healthiest way to be. If anything, I'd like to find a way to encourage others, regardless of what they do, to show passion, spread positivity and be more nuturing to the talents of others, like I have found since the launch of this site.

You have a lot to offer, and don't you forget it.
What are your targets for this year? And how will you go about achieving them?
2017 absolutely terrifies me, but in the best possible way.
That was a LONG sticky note!