Calling myself into the office: May 2010
In #uppingyourgame: an educator’s guide to productivity I mention an idea originally by Dan Pink in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. It’s a fairly simple idea, but involves a journey that I want to share publicly. Why? It will motivate me even more and make explicit the process involved in case others want to do likewise! 🙂
The idea is that of ‘calling yourself into the office’ once a month for a review meeting. Just as you would do at a performance management review, you should be testing yourself against a set of goals or targets that were set at the previous meeting. As this is the first of these monthly posts I’m planning to share this one is just target-setting. The next of these will include a review and then further target-setting.
I’m going to set myself 5 targets for this month:
- To write and send off my first academic journal article, applying Empson’s seven types of ambiguity to the issue of digital literac(ies).
- Not to bite my nails at all (it’s not particularly a nervous thing – I only do this whilst I’m reading or driving for some reason…)
- To continue to publish a blog post here every day without fail.
- Book a laser eye surgery appointment (I’m sick to death of wearing contact lenses and glasses!)
- To lose one stone in weight (I’m currently 14 stones, which my Wii Fit thinks is too much – I’m 6’1″)
I think all that’s eminently do-able!
Anyone want to join me in this public journey of self-improvement? :-p
5 targets in one month?! I set myself 1 target a month and I’m currently doing the task I set for February.. 2006
Aim for the sky, hit the treetops. That kind of thing… 😉
BMI is a very poor measurement of appropriate weight. 13stone at 6″1′ would put you at lighter than me per unit height and I don’t intend to loose any unless I want to improve my performance in a specific discipline (I should be lighter to be a cyclist, heavier to be a rower). Set this as a target but also take more appropriate metrics such as waist measurement, 5km pace, resting heart rate…
Thanks Ben, I’ll bear that in mind. 🙂 It actually recommended 11
stone 12 pounds which would put me very close to the extremely skinny
11.5 stones I was at uni! 😮
Good goals. I think monthly goals are far more achievable than, say, new year’s resolutions.
My goals for May are:
Adapt the AG&T lesson proforma I’ve had in my inbox for a month
Meet with the T&L group to arrange paired lesson observations for term 6
Finish writing a scheme of work…any scheme of work!
Wear all my work/season appropriate shoes at least once, and charity-bag any I really can’t face wearing on the basis that they are too uncomfortable…what a heavyweight goal that is….
Go to circuits at least four times
Good luck with yours!
Yep, that’s the point – to make sure you get some regular feedback!
Nice targets – especially about de-cluttering. 🙂