I was out to dinner this evening with a friend when she asked how often I wrote in my blog. She knows how often I talk about blog posts I have ‘half written’ and I think she expected me to say more often.
When I took on my new position in September one of the things I promised myself was that I was going to have more time to write when I didn’t have to worry about planning, report writing, planning, marking, planning…..
But the funny thing is that when I finally had some spare time I filled it up very quickly! And not with blog post writing! I cringe that my last post was in January. In fact it coincides with the week before I started uni. I spent the first half of the year heading back to uni to complete my first unit in a Master of Educational Policy (International). When I look back to January I was very excited. The prospect of learning more, from people who are experts in the field, talking to fellow learners, wrapping myself in new knowledge.
But I must admit it wasn’t quite what I expected. I didn’t enjoy being talked at for hours on end. And when the feedback I received felt generic and lacking I lost interest In my first essay I spent hours each week reading, immersing myself in understanding the Finnish and English education systems. I would go to bed reading about them, dream about them and use my lunch break to research more about them. But my feedback didn’t acknowledge any of that. Now just to be clear I wasn’t concerned with my mark. In fact it was exactly where I had self assessed myself. That wasn’t a problem. But the areas I had thought were my strengths had become my weaknesses.
It made it really tough to thrash out the next essay. I found my self not caring, ploughing through and doing what I needed to. My motivation had completely gone. I completed it and handed it in. But I didn’t love it as I had the first. The first I carried with me, nurtured it and held it close. This one I did through guilt.
Now that has got me reflecting about my motivation. Another goal I had when I changed jobs was to read more. I have a growing pile of books on my bedside table that I desperately want to read. This year I have managed to read three books. Not many but still more than the last couple of years. I think this is more in relation to the amount of time I spend on public transport. I wondered how I could be more motivated to read. Don’t get me wrong I love reading and I want to. But there is always something else that needs doing. How can I prioritise reading?
Image: ‘Tome Reader‘
Found on flickrcc.net
So that brings me to my idea of a virtual book club. I don’t think I could commit to a book club in someone’s lounge room and God forbid my lounge room! But a get together on Google Hangouts once a month I could do. So would this motivate me to read more? I think it would. I make countless notes in the margins when I read but never have a chance to share them so what more motivation would I need than to know I could discuss my thoughts, share my curiosities and hear other ideas.
I have just purchased a copy of Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess after reading about it on Twitter and propose that be our first book. If you are interested in joining my book club just leave a comment or chase me up on twitter.
Now back to finish off another half written blog post…..