Logging Online Often Can Become Stressful
I am online many hours of the day. Since I work from home, I have my laptop running for close to 10-12 hours. Although I do not need to be logged in for that amount of time, it helps when keeping emails down. If I am tackling a tight deadline and am working feverishly to complete grades, commenting to DB forums, etc, I become frazzled if I forget to show my status as "offline".
Then, I get several students who will instant messaging me. Usually at that time, I am slow to respond and request they email me. I have also set my status as "away" or "busy" but more often than not, it does not stop students from chiming in and asking questions or letting me know of something going on that prevents them from submitting an assignment on time.
Although it sounds so simple, it can cause me a little more stress than I want. Anyone else have the same issue as I do?
Thanks,
Anna
Managing technology can be stressful. Doing a test run 30 minutes before class can minimize stress if you have that kind of wiggle room.
I set the "appear offline" option and it usually works. I get stressed shortly before my live chats because it usually takes me several tries to get my powerpoints uploaded.
I can definitely relate Anna. I would recommend setting your status to one of only two options - 'present' or 'absent.' People don't seem to respect the 'busy' or 'away' status and will continue to reach out to you in these conditions. If those same students saw you were instead 'away,' they would try another communication channel like email - and would have more reasonable expectations about your response time.
