By starting the year with clear goals and intentions for what you want to achieve in 2023, you have already taken the first step towards success in your teaching job. Now is the time to check in with yourself to make sure your actions are in alignment with your intentions. Looking back over January is a great way to work out what has been working well and what needs some further reflection to get back on the right path.
Conduct a self-review
The first step towards gaining a clear understanding of your progress throughout January is to do a self-review. Set some time aside to sit down and read through your goals, and then write a list of the actions you have taken towards achieving them so far. By getting everything down in writing, you can clearly see where you have already acted, and the areas where you still need to get started. Whether your goals are centred around your work outside the classroom, or strategies that you want to implement within the classroom and your teaching job, the key is to clearly map your progress so far so that you can identify areas that need more attention.
Build understanding
Once you have reviewed where you are at currently, you have solid evidence to use as a starting point for some honest self-reflection. You now know what’s going well and the areas where you are procrastinating – now you need to understand why. A good idea at this point would be to go through each goal and ask yourself some questions: What have you enjoyed about the process so far? Are you avoiding anything and what is the reason for this? Writing down some answers will encourage you to think honestly about where you’re at and the reasons why. Self-reflection is also an opportunity to check that your goals are still relevant and in line with what you want to achieve for the rest of the year in your teaching job.
Break down your goals
Now you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve for the rest of 2023, you can create a plan. At this stage it is helpful to remember that success doesn’t happen overnight, but habits and behaviours fostered over time can get you to where you want to be. Write down your goals and then work backwards, breaking them into small, achievable steps. This practical approach will provide you with a clear guide on how to implement real change.
There are many approaches to reflecting on your goals – the main thing is to set aside time to do it regularly. By frequently reviewing your progress, you can make sure your actions are in alignment with the goals you want to achieve in your teaching job.
