As 2017 draws to a close I am reflecting on the year that was.
This year has been MASSIVE for me. In 2016, when I had a nearly 2 ½ year old and 4 month old, I got this grand idea to create a resource to ease the stress of relief teachers and give them more confidence going into the many unknowns of the role.
I would mostly write and research at night, as two kids don’t allow me to sit on the computer for more than 4 ½ minutes at a time! With little more than a Word Document, I contacted local universities around Australia to get people to trial it. My only luck came when a friend whilst at university, shared a Facebook post with her Education peers and I then had a dozen people willing to check it out. With one positive review- “The book is extremely beneficial, easy to read and straightforward. You should be extremely proud of your work, the book will be a huge success!”, I went full steam ahead with my book. I found an amazing designer that turned my work into what it is today.
I started selling my first book- “Primary School Edition” at the end of January 2017 and I was shocked when people actually started buying it. It was such a rush (and still is!). The feedback I received was amazing with people calling the book their “bible” and saying, “Your book is a lifesaver!” It makes all the late nights and hard work worth it!
It is also all these beautiful comments that have helped me get past the few bouts of negativity from online trolls that I have received throughout the year. When I spoke openly about how this negativity can affect a person, you were all there to have my back! And while one negative comment manages to stick more than 100 positives, it is so nice to know there are so many TFAD fans out there appreciating the hard work, effort and great content rather than grammatical errors or focusing on something they don’t like in the book.
When I started out, I had no idea what I was doing or where I would go with it. But guided by you all, I then wrote a High School Edition and then an Early Childhood Edition, at your request. Along the way I have also written “Behaviour Management for Supply Teaching Success”, a “Celebrations Activity” ebook, a “Teacher Planner” and numerous activities and ebooks along the way.
It has been a mammoth year, and I am so grateful that so many of you have joined me along the way to share in this journey. I am looking forward to 2018 and can’t wait to see what it brings!
Here are five things I have learnt in 2017 and tips to achieve them-
- You will NEVER please everyone, so as long as you stay true to yourself and you can't go wrong.
- Write a journal or notes of all the POSITIVE things that happen in your day or week and the things you are grateful for.
- Don’t take things too personally. People might be having a bad day, year or they may just be unpleasant people out to cut you down no matter what. Surround yourself with the people that lift you up and forget the rest.
- Call an old friend.
- Spend some time with the funniest person you know.
- Do something you love with a loved one.
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Find an old friend you’ve lost touch with and reach out on social media to tell them something positive that you remember about them.
- You can do anything you put your mind to. If someone told me a year ago that I would have written and accomplished what I have in 2017, I wouldn’t have believed them. I’m no one special. Just your average mum and relief teacher trying to help other teachers and attempting to create a more financially secure future for my family. If you have an idea or a dream, just go for it. You never know, it may lead you on an amazing journey like mine. What’s the worst that could happen?
- Write down some goals that you would like to achieve and set a plan for how you will achieve them.
- Keep a notepad with ideas you come up with.
- Assess what it is you spend most of your time doing, this may be your niche. Find a problem in this niche that you could solve and work towards a way you can fix it.
- Read books about things you are passionate about and areas you need to work on both professionally and personally.
- Nothing will happen if you don’t make changes. You need to put yourself out there. I know it is scary, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Every time I release something new, I stress and worry what people will think. But, you will never know if you don’t give it a go so don’t let fear stop you from achieving great things.
- Write down at least 5 new things you want to try or change in 2018.
- Set yourself little challenges to build up your confidence in areas you are lacking..
- Be more decisive. Nothing happens when you are sitting on the fence so get good at making decisions.
- Turn off your TV and devices and amazing things may happen. My year has been so productive since not spending my evenings watching television. Although I probably use “work” as an excuse to use my phone much more than needed, I have still managed to read more books than ever before as well as write and create more than ever. Do yourself one favour this year and ditch the devices and TV, or at least aim for less than usual.
- Take baby steps by cutting down your TV and phone time in the evenings.
- Delete time-wasting apps. If you are forced to go to a site manually you’ll be surprised how little you will choose to access it.
- Make a conscious effort to be more “present” in your daily life.
- Don’t kid yourself that you can be on your phone and talk to someone at the same time. Stop. Listen. Connect.
- Read books, play games, talk, eat, drink, cook, get outdoors, camp, exercise, create, write, learn, teach, volunteer…so many useful and wonderful things to do with your time on this Earth. We only get one chance, so make your time count!
I hope you had an amazing Christmas and all the best for a safe, peaceful and successful New Year. Set your intentions for the year, make goals then smash them!
Here’s to a prosperous 2018!
KELLY :)
