The stressors I experience in my life are likely not too terribly different than those experienced by anybody else. I have a family, I work and I have friends to worry about on a regular basis.
Family - Money, children fighting, spousal issues, repairs, lack of time
Work - Administration, students, co-workers, grading, developing new ideas, trying to stay fresh while teaching the same subject for the 4th time that day
Friends - Managing relationships (enough said:)
With each of these, the key to managing the stress is balance. If I can work at striking a balance, I can more easily manage the stress.
Stresses can include the many policies and standards required from administration. This can include changing policies, poorly composed objectives, inadequate texts and poor teaching environments.
I work a full time job as well as instruct during the evening. I feel stressed when I have to prioritize which job is "more important". For example, if my day job needs me to stay at night but I can't because I have committed to teach. That situation makes me feel stressed and I end up feeling anxious all day. Does this happen to anyone else? If so, how do you deal with it?
Yes, lists and task prioritization can really help Karen. Organizational factors are tough and can't all be avoided. But lists give us some feeling of control over them.
I believe that most of the major stressors in my life/career can in some way stem from organizational factors. I feel a little stressed when I feel like I cannot be there for a student the way that I want to be, because my mind is constantly thinking about the next thing. Making lists and priorotizing tasks I believe will help to reduce and eliminate some of those stressors.
I can definately relate to all the scenarios in the module. I work full-time and I love my job but with two small children and a husband who are also demanding my time it can be stressful trying to balance it all. But doing what I love at my job keeps me sane... to a point.
This past year, we have undertaken considerable shifts in curriculum, causing much stress as the 'standards' change. Rather than 'self medicate' as some of my colleagues have done. I try to find the time to either exercise or spend time with family. It's difficult because I am a student [Master's in ED] and a full time teacher.
I know one major stressors in life could be the family. Making sure I have enough time for my family, students, and work. There are some logistical factors on certain flexibility between the school and students.
To list a few general areas of major stressors in my life/career:
Life: -being a good wife (just trying to see each other in a day can be difficult when you work different shifts), daughter, dog owner, friend, giving back to the community, having time for yourself or to excersie...etc....
Career: always being prepared for class even when you don't have the time between classes to always be able to feel prepared, not being able to eat between classes, writing new programs, going back to school, meeting with students to mentor and tudor, answering emails and vm, preparing mise en place for class, keeping track of classroom equipment, ordering new equipment, etc.
All of the above are my stressors, I guess you could include remembering to take care of yourself, going grocery shopping, cleaning, traffic, etc.
There are several stressors in my life.
Organizational factors:
*specific policies and procedures for gradin
*specific policies and procedures for other in-class deliverabesl
Work factors:
*commitment to my animal shelter
*other colleges that I teach at
Family factors:
*3 children
*homeschooled children
*housework and other responsibilities
Other factors:
*financial issues
*medical issues/mental health issues
*enrolled in a DBA program
Some of the causes of stress in life are work loads, lack of communication, office hours, and personal stresses.
I am currently an online instructor. Meeting deadlines is a standard that the university harps on with the instructors. Four causes of stress for me are as follows.
1. Having a diversity of students in my class, and not having the opportunity to work with them one on one, face to face, to help them get past the obstacles that they may face in my class.
2. Having grades due every three days, while in the middle of teaching a new concept.
3. Having a family of four children and a husband, and keeping up with my personal responsiblities while meeting the deadlines that are required by me.
4. Having to use sylabuss and task list that are pre populated by the cirriculm development team standards within the University.
Wow Kelli, It sounds like you have a solid understanding of the stressors in your life as well as some good coping mechanisms to teal with those stressors. Keep this up. It sounds like it works well for you.
The biggest stressors in my life consists of juggling professional and personal lives ;)
I am the bread winner of the family - huge stress!
I wear many hats: wife, mom, housekeeper, professional, taxi service, dog caregiver and the list goes on and on :)
I work from home and must get my work completed before the kids come home from school so that I can help with home work and extra curricular activities.
I volunteer 3 hours a week.
I could go on and on. The biggest thing that I have done for myself is to develop a strict schedule and keep to it. Everything goes on the calendar - time management if you will. My girls are getting older and I have learned to delegate household tasks to them. Hubby is in charge of the lawn and dinner.
Recently I have found a neighbor to walk with at least 30 minutes Mon-Fri mornings - this has been a great therapy session for me! I have also implemented 15 minutes of 'me' time a day.
It's important to develop a system and stick with it. It's also critical to communicate with family/friends/co-workers when and if you need help. Never be afraid to delegate and ask for help - it honestly works!
My Best,
Kelli
Task delegation can be quite effective Maria. While instructors typically can't delegate everything, they can delegate some and it's a big help.
Susan, I am sorry to hear that you are doing what you are passionate about! I used to struggle with that. I was trained as a lawyer and used to exclusively practice law. After 9-11, I realized that life was too short and began teaching. I have been balancing both law and teaching since then, but have been devoting more and more time to what I really love. How did you end up doing something completely different than what you were hired to do? Have you done anything to address that?
Carolyn, you indicated that you try to create a plan so you can accomplish everything. How has your plan been working? I have read many time management books and have read that sometimes you just need to delegate tasks or get rid of them. Have you ever considered it? Do you think it is possible?
Until this course, I have never thought about listing my stresses out. I hope this will help me address them more effectively:
-Balancing a teaching load at multiple schools
-Trying to have a family
-Managing most of the household chores
-Thinking about/visiting sick family members
-Dealing with students who are both unprepared for college and submit late work on a regular basis
Hello Everyone,
Some of the things that cause stress in my life are worrying about job security, but I guess who really has that. Other work related stressors include completing grading on time and keeping up with deadlines.
The biggest stress I have is that I provide enough supporting material for students to take away and review. I provide applied learning experiences but I like to make sure they have something meaningful and tangible to take with them.
