New Motivation, New Tools, and New Optimism!
A lot has happened in the past year, when I didn't get much done on my websites. I was teaching full time, exhausted most of the time, and had no time to do much more than visit! Did you miss me? I recently got a cosmic kick in the behind that has pushed me to move in new directions on my old web-creating path, and I'm back to Wealthy Affiliate with renewed vigor.
New motivation? Quite simply, I was fired. Well, not exactly... I taught a year of High School English and my contract was non-renewed this spring. (It's not uncommon for first year teachers, even if it should be.) Don't worry-- I didn't do anything wrong. All my test scores, evaluations, and kid's standardized tests were great. This was pure politics. I can't help but feel, though, that somebody "up there" was telling me that maybe it wasn't where I was supposed to be. The year was a struggle, and mostly worth the rewards, but I'm not certain it was worth the stress of losing the job in the end and having to apply for new teaching positions.
New tools? I learned that I can schedule, block my time, finish tasks even if they are boring, come back to distractions when I'm done with the primary task, and write instructions for everybody who needs them. These were all revelations for an ADHD adult like me. I polished my lesson-creating skills, brushed up on my grammar, remembered how much I like learning and teaching, and found great new ways to organize myself.
My favorite new tool, and worth its own paragraph, was Trello. This project-management app is free and fantastic, and syncs between my computer and my phone. It's an online version of the old-fashioned index cards I was using previously, but it doesn't scatter all over the floor when the cat gets interested. I use it for prioritizing layout and menus. I use it for recording ideas that my ADHD brain comes up with - which I can come back to later and not get distracted from what I'm focused on! I keep track of EVERYTHING on Trello. I have "boards" for pages that need updating, ideas for marketing, photos I need to collect, and even ideas for other websites for "someday."
New optimism? How can I not have new optimism? I learned this year by doing for others everything required for a successful affiliate marketing business: writing, organizing, prioritizing, and researching. I am capable of excelling at eveything I need to make my business succeed. My website got updated this weekend with a new color scheme, new home page, new slider, and new love. Next up is new monetizing so I can afford to do what I love regardless of education politics.
All fired up,
--Kelley
Recent Comments
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I have friends who are teachers and changed schools, so I know exactly what you mean about not getting renewed. So, are you planning to not try to find something new for the next school year? There are ways you can teach from home, paid on an hourly basis, while you work on your site. Kind of the best of both worlds.
I have an interview in two days. It's hard to be excited about a new position when you're booted from the old one so unceremoniously, but I'm trying to muster enthusiasm for switching from High School English to Middle School Social Studies. (I'm qualified for both.) If I don't find a teaching spot where we want each other, I plan to do exactly that. I'll collect unemployment for awhile and seek some online jobs. My daughter tutors math and enjoys it very much.