Dr. Melissa Read

Craig, It's wonderful to hear that you are leading your students through exercises that reduce their stress. In the process of teaching others, you probably remind yourself of some things that work for you too. Dr. Melissa Read

Ramon, Excellent to hear! Even the most efficient people have room for growth and optimization. Yes, numbering tasks can be a great help and when things are more organized, we often feel less stressed. Dr. Melissa Read

Fred, Indeed it would! The highlighting or underlining method works great. Makes us more efficient in grading but also helps focus our students on the most important points they are trying to communicate. It's a win win. Dr. Melissa Read

Charlie, Sounds like you have a good handle on all the dynamic forces that create stressful environments for instructors. As we try to accomplish difficult and large tasks, new ones keep rolling in. I recommend focusing on one thing at a time. Also, it's important to set your own expectations that some tasks really can wait until tomorrow. Dr. Melissa Read

Jacob, Sounds like your environment - and the people in it - are providing you with important lessons on time management. Sometimes we don't learn everything we need to learn in the home or in school. In these cases, it's important to listen carefully to the needs of others and closely observe the world around us to inform the best approach on how to accomplish things. Dr. Melissa Read

Randall, I can really relate to the challenges that you face. On one hand, it's nice to be able to give students plenty of time to complete assignments so they can do a detailed job. On the other, when they wait until the very last minute to submit their work, this can make our lives hard. I recommend continuing to give students plenty of time, but building in grading incentives for early delivery. Extra credit and the like are powerful motivators that can stagger the grading that's coming into your queue. Dr. Melissa Read

Pete, Sounds like you have a nice system in place for getting it all done. Many instructors find that the note pad approach works wonderfully. It's great to be able to get things out of your mind and on paper. Really helps us relax and focus on more important things in life. Dr. Melissa Read

Daniel, It can be a downward spiral when we abandon our coping mechanisms to get work done. While there are short-term gains, we often experience long term setbacks. It's good to hear you have a healthy respect for the balance you needs. Dr. Melissa Read

Robert, Sounds like your fellow faculty and administration have setup an efficient system. That's so great to hear. Multiple choice and true / false are wonderful when it comes to quick grading. Sometimes I like to add in essay style questions just to more deeply test knowledge, but my choice to do so often depends on the subject matter. Dr. Melissa Read

Randall, Sounds like you have made some mistakes but learned a few lessons along the way. Learning by real life experience can be challenging but also can make an impact. When we make a mistake in the real world, often times we don't let it happen twice. Dr. Melissa Read