Keeping promises?

2 months ago I wrote my second post on "learning teaching" contract and it's time to present the results!

1. Post here once a week - did it! And very proud of it! There were weeks when I thought I wasn't going to make it. If you look at my blog carefully you can notice that I've been posting predominantly on Sunday nights where there was no more time to put it off.  I felt like in Uni again barely meeting my deadlines. But with every week I looked at what I have written and the fact that I still managed to do made me feel good (not that every post was good). That made me thinking how important it is to keep some kind of a record and return to it from time to time. Really gives you a sense of progress
2. Read at least one blog post every day. I didn't do that and here is my explanation. Before it was new and difficult to read elt blogs that's why I tried to read at least a little bit every day. It was also a way to find daily inspiration for teaching. Now I'm quite familiar with my blog roll and I dont' feel a need to read it every day. I read it in bulks once or twice a week and return to the ones I liked later. I also use twitter more and it turned out to be another inspiration-generator for me.
3. Sign up for TKT Module 3 and start preparing. Did not happen either. The fluctuation of an exchange rate between rouble and euro really affected everyone financially in Russia. Even though I didn't travel and don't buy things abroad normally, the prices grew up almost for everything. The exam, which is produced in the UK, obviously costs more now and I'm still considering whether I should take it now or not....
4. Continue reading Jeremy Harmer's How to Teach English and finish at least 3 chapters by the end of each month. I did not do that and I have an excellent excuse: I had better things to read (not to offend Jeremy Harmer). I am taking part in British Council seminars which happen in the library with the whole section dedicated to elt books in English. For a small fee I was able to register and now I can take up to 5 books every month. I have already read 4 books! The important thing for me is that I can choose books which are the most relevant to me right now like that "How to teach Pronunciation" book or "Teaching teenagers".
   
   
5.  Have at least one day a week where I don't prepare for the classes. Well this was not easy and there were weeks when I couldn't catch a breath. But by choosing my schedule more wisely I managed to de-clutter my life a little bit and now I have at least one day work and thought-about-work free.
6. Continue writing reflections after each group class (also think about how I can use them in the most productive way). I did start writing them after every lesson but gradually I stopped. I realized what a great thing it is to do when I came back to my notes looking for one idea I wrote down once after a lesson. So I would really like to continue doing it. To make it a little easier, I would try to concentrate on certain aspects for different groups like "ttt in group #" or " communication between students in group #" and so on.

Afterthoughts

One of my students has this poster on her wall

Thinking about my success and failures in achieving my 6 goals, I couldn't help but measure them against these criteria. And it really makes sense. Number 1 one was very much specific, attainable and measurable. While number two and four were no longer relevant when I was writing the list. They already became a habit and didn't need so much work. As for number 6, it had to be more specific and measurable. And sometimes it just not up to us - goal number 3 ....

So considering all of the above, I would like to make a new list and give it another three month to come to life:

1. Post here once a week
2. Post here at least once a month not on Sunday
3. Write reflections on my group classes twice a week. It has to be at least two sentences recording my observations and ideas about the class.
4. Take part in at least 1 #eltchat
5. Have an even freer day once a week with no blogging, reading elt books and blogs

It is shorter but I hope it will make it more attainable.