Happy New Year!

I hope that if you have celebrated the New Year, you've had a wonderful time and that 2011 is off to a great start.

Many people make New Year's resolutions. These are plans for taking up new activities (like exercise) or giving up bad habits (like smoking). The stereotype about these resolutions is that they don't last very long; the gym is full of people for a few weeks and then most people return to their previous habits.

I really only have one resolution this year: to be very careful with how I spend my time. My idea is to focus on the people and activities which are most important to me, and to make sure I have enough time for them.

If you're reading this blog, one of your ongoing resolutions may be to improve your English. If that's the case, time will be an important factor. Not because improving takes so much time, but because constancy is important. Whatever you're doing, such as taking classes, studying on your own, or trying to maintain or improve your level by reading, etc., the regularity of the time you invest is probably more important than the amount. On the other hand, if you know that you need two straight hours a week to start thinking in English, then that should be your goal.

As always, I recommend the links to the right as good sources of daily or weekly doses of English. And finally, a lot of people say that one of the most important elements of pursuing a goal is to celebrate small victories. I encourage you to set some goals for yourself, or to collaborate on them with your teacher, and try to recognize when you've attained them. This can be as simple as understanding more of the news, or learning a new verb or expression. Recognizing that you've done it will encourage you to do more!