It’s Christmas!!!!
For many of us this has been one of our strangest years. Christmas is a chance to look to traditions, old and new, to bring some normality to our lives.
This year for our children they face another year of uncertainty. These few weeks off school allow them to reflect on how they have done so far. They also give them a little bit of head space to make sure that they make the most of the coming months. This is a great time to be thinking of their ‘future self’.
Looking out for your future self
One of the questions that I ask my coaching clients is, ‘What could you do today that your future self would thank you for?’ This can really focus the mind as to how what you do today can really impact tomorrow.
I’ve talked about how important coaching is to Red Bird in Why Coaching? and how we help learners take small steps every week using our Action Sheets. The Christmas break is an opportunity to look at the rest of the academic year ahead and make a plan!
New Years Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions are common after Christmas. This is when we look into the future and make a wish, usually to improve ourselves.
But often resolutions fall away. The leap from where you are to where you want to be is too great. Smaller steps are needed. This help you see changes and feel that sense of achievement as you head towards your big goal.
How to make the most of the break
So during the break, as well as the essential rest and family time, it’s a great opportunity to plan those small steps which will benefit your future self and help you achieve the very best you can this academic year. This plan is likely to include revision, study, rest and downtime – an essential mix to get the most out of the year.
5 tips to get the most out of your break and time away from school.
- Plan your holiday time. You know exactly how much time you have or will know after a short conversation. Use this time effectively to benefit your future self. If you need to rest, do that. If you want to work, do that. But make sure you have some planning time to get the rest of the year right.
- Chunk up your time for the rest of the year. When you are planning, make those small steps and milestones really achievable so that you can see how you are moving forward. What do you want to achieve by February half term? Easter?
- Build in celebrations. Plan to reward yourself for achieving your goals with a celebration. This can be a celebration of any size and can be something you love. You can celebrate after a solid hour revising by a 5 minute look at your phone for example. This will make doing the work feel better as you know you will get a good feeling afterwards.
- Be realistic. You know how best you learn (or if you don’t here’s a cheesy video to help Learning Styles intro). Use strategies that suit how you prefer to learn to short cut time spent revising. Take into account meal times, rest times and sleeping in your plan. How much time can you realistically revise for and then break the subjects into those time slots.
- Face your enemy. Make sure that you are planning to revise the subjects that you least like or find the hardest the most rather than spending all your time with subjects you feel comfortable with and will probably do well in anyway.
Enjoy the break and take care of your future yourself – you will thank yourself for it!
Sue
Owner of Red Bird Tutoring
Sue launched Red Bird Tutoring in 2018, combining her 20+ years experience as a teacher and school leader with her interest in coaching.
Since its launch, Red Bird has helped hundreds of learners achieve success!
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