Dr. Melissa Read

Elaine, This can be so frustrating. Sorry to hear you've had so much experience in this area! My recommendation is to be clear at the start of each semester about your expectations and grading criteria. This will set the tone for what you expect from your students up front and minimize accusations of unfairness. Dr. Melissa Read

Jackie, Yes, drinking and smoking should be minimized as they are negative coping mechanisms. However, coping itself can be healthy when you choose the right techniques. Try to see if you can find more positive outlets. Exercise, sharing and spending time with friends are a few examples. Dr. Melissa Read

Shannon, Excellent to hear! Yea, breaking large items into more manageable chunks can help make daunting tasks a lot easier to take on. It's also a lot easier to chip away at them this way too. Dr. Melissa Read

Charles, It sounds like you have a great companion and wonderful listener too. You are lucky! Love the idea of setting aside time to be together and talk things out. Dr. Melissa Read

Tanya, You bring up a good point about knowing your stressors. Far too often, I watch instructors struggle with stress but they do not fully understand the source. Once the source is identified, it's a lot easier to do something about it! Really gives you a renewed sense of control to fully understand what's bothering you. Dr. Melissa Read

Ryan, Sounds like a great plan. No one can do everything at once - at least not well. When we attempt to multitask too many things, we often sacrifice the quality of our outputs. Sometimes a little prioritization can help us focus and deliver our very best. Dr. Melissa Read

Jaceita, Great to hear. I should note that sometimes a little procrastination can light the fire we need to get motivated to get work done. It's ok to delay tasks a little if you have the intention of returning to them soon. Dr. Melissa Read

John, It sounds like you have identified a critical coping mechanism that works well for you. That's great to hear! If you've got a method that works well for you, my best advice is to go with it. It sounds like you are doing just that! Dr. Melissa Read

Richard, Interesting. It sounds like someone has already taken the time to optimize a portion of your tasks. It's to hear about your curriculum and grading efficiency. To your point, there is always room for improvement. If you could adapt your lab procedures to a more efficient system, it will likely serve you well in the long term! Dr. Melissa Read

Kathy, I know exactly where you are coming from. It's tempting to knock out a bunch of easy tasks before getting to harder ones. Doing so makes us feel like we are making good progress in the short term. However, those large tasks we are procrastinating tend to haunt us. Sometimes my approach has been to attack the large and undesirable tasks first. While it's not fun, once I get them knocked out I have a much more positive outlook about my day. Dr. Melissa Read