My cause of stress is oversized class rooms to many students to handle
The stressors in my life generally are organizational factors such as getting new instructions from the administration on doing something a new way with little or no time provided to complete it or instructions that are not complete. I also get stressed with some of the students attitude that I should GIVE them the a with out their doing the work. To deal with these types of stress I sometimes take the attitude of Scarlet Ohara in Gone With the Wind tomorrow is another day.
I agree that all factors of life are stressors. The important thing is learn to create balance between personal and professional issues. Don't take everything so seriously where it adversly affects your health.
Dealing with many different personalities both with staff and students can be stressful for me.There can be a great deal of drama. Trying to remain neutral is the challenging. I find taking a walk outside really helps. It may not be for a great deal of time but it helps me to regain balance and tap into my truth.
Ariana, It sounds like your students are on track. That's wonderful to hear. One less thing to worry about this semester!
Dr. Melissa Read
My biggest stressor is finding balence between home life and work. At home I have two small children, and at work OI feel as though I have 15 grown children. Money is another huge stressor, as well as time management.
The babysitter example stood out to me! But I can't really fire her and get a new one, because it's my mom! But I have had to deal with being late more often than ever before, now that I have to wait for her to get to my house before I can leave. That's a big stressor sometimes.
As far as organizational stressors....just when I am assigned a class that I have taught before, but they now have changed the text book...this happens ALL the time.
Some of the stressors at the school are things that can be avoided sometimes. They usually have one night during the semester for inservices. Those inservices are usually something else that has been added to your to do list as an instructor. I don't thing that they sometime realize all that they require of the instructor to do for the pay being offered to them. Calling grown ups that do not show up for class should not fall on the instructor to make sure that they are not dropped for retention reasons. Having someone to talk during the whole inservice and then in the last 20 minutes having the instructors to have to complete something and turn in before leaving is stressful that can be eliminated by planning the inservice training correctly and allowing for more time to do thing that must be completed that night. The admin expect us to be prepared for class.
For the most part my students cause the least stress in my life. Administrative and organizational aspects are more stressful to me such as meeting deadlines, making sure I keep up with documentation adn meet the all the standards required by my organization.
My personal opinion in stress is everybody financial issue. That would put a stress load on everyone.
Rachel, It sounds like you have realistic expectations about how much stress you will be experiencing in life and also are managing things well. Yes, scheduling your time carefully can help a lot in making you feel more organized and less stressed.
Dr. Melissa Read
I used to be the one beating my head against the wall. As a new instructor helping to reinvent a program, I was being pulled in a thousand directions. I was trying to learn how to teach, get acclimated to the student culture, and dealing with a different demographic of people. I used to be extremely exhausted despite attempting time management. But now I just leave for about an hour, or more, just to get a change in scenery.
I think one of the major stressors in my life is trying to juggle everything I have to in a day. I am a single mom, work full time, attend online school, and occassionally work a part time job. My kids are very active with dance, gymnastics, karate and school. We are always on the go and never enough time for me to just have me time and destress.
I think that there will also be some kind of stress factors in life. Sometimes there will be more stressfull times than others. Currently I feel like I have minor stresses in my life including time management outside of work. I know if I can get a grip on scheduling my time then that would alleviate some of my stress.
Thomas, I understand where you are coming from. It can be particularly frustrating when we are not aligned with our leadership, and when our leadership is not aligned with each other. Leaning in to goal setting and aligning conversations can be a big help, particularly when we can get everyone in the same room.
Dr. Melissa Read
I think everyone I work with would agree that one major issue we have is with conflict of instruction or standards from various higher ups. When multiple bosses can't agree on a standard or a simple instruction it can be quite stressful for everyone who has to move forward with those standards or instructions. It's confusing, annoying, and really unnecessary.
To handle both work and family stressors.I regroup by changing my diet and increasing my exercise routines.
I also you a list and try to prioritize each day.
Mariann Urbancsik, BSRN
Most of the stress in my life comes from not being as organized as I could be. This rarely gets out of hand, but when it does I can really feel the toll the stress takes on me. I am learning to use personal organizers such as my smart phone and calendars to keep up on things. This keeps me up to date and reduces my stress level.
Alicia, It sounds like you are balancing a lot. On one hand, it's nice to be needed. On the other hand, I understand when you need a break too!
Dr. Melissa Read
Teaching has been the most enjoyable position to date. Organizing my schedule to accomodate students needs is a concern and one that I juggle with as necessary. I work around the students needs while attending to my own tasks.
