Time for self
How do guys find time for yourself in the hussle and bussle of everyday life? All suggestions are welcomed!
Wayne,
Taking care of one's self is an importany part of teaching. As you stated, being hungry can impact your performance. I suggest letting students know that you will meet them after a short break or that you need to be out of the room by 12:40 might help.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I also find myself missing lunch too often. I have a math class from 10:30 am to 12:20 pm. My next class is at 1:00 pm. I far too often stay after class tutoring students and not allowing myself time to eat. As result I am starving during my next class which is physically uncomfortable. After taking this course I realize I need to make eating a crucial priority and allow myself at least a few minutes to eat.
Lindsay,
I do the same most weeks. I even block my calendar by setting an appointment with "Jim." I thought "Gym" would be too obvious. :)
Jeffrey Schillinger
I take time to go to the gym before work a minimum of 3 days a week. I find it keeps me much more focused and my stress level down while on campus.
Richard,
These are great techniques to provide life balance and work organization. Thanks for sharing them.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I to make sure I enjoy my quality time with family and friends. I have found that taking the time before leaving work to set up and prepair for the following day helps me to be relaxed and enjoy my time for my self much, much more. And I have an added bonus the next morning, since I'm all prepared for my day when I get to work I have some self time before class, and this puts me in a great mood for the rest of the day.
Danella,
"me time" is essential. Thanksfor sharing this.
Jeffrey Schillinger
You actually need to schedule it in to your daily routine even if it's just 5 or 10 minutes at a time. I found when I started doing this and taking the time I felt more energized and in control
Cynthia,
I love the "hat analogy." Thanks for sharing it.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I try to keep a healthy separation between work and home.
I think I discovered how to do this fairly early in my career as a survival tool. I was working in an extremely stressful environment, with very needy clientele. I quickly discovered that I had to "shut work off" when I got home or I couldn't relax or give the most to my family.
I try to imagine that I am wearing hats- I know it sounds really silly, but for me it works!
When I leave work, I remove that hat. When I come to work in the morning, I remove the home hat.
This really helps to find some peace and time for your self. If you bring the work home, you will never get time to yourself.
Time to yourself is essential in being a productive, happy, healthy employee.
I have to employ a couple of different strategies to insure that I make time for myself. These are the ones that have worked the best for me:
1. Leave my office. Even if my door is shut or I am in the lunch room, it seems someone wants to discuss work or has an urgent matter & if I'm the only manager here,then I'm elected to deal with it.
2. Hired a personal trainer to put me on a regimen. I schedule that time 3 evenings a week.
3. Make plans with friends or family & put it on my schedule so that I don't neglect my important relationships.
Chris,
It may be worthwhile to establish some set office hours dedicated to students and then get away from the campus for things like grading. office hours work best if they are just before or just after classes.
Jeffrey Schillinger
It can become overwelming at times with students that always seem to need extra attention, but i try to lock my door and grade some tests or homework and ease my mind for a few minutes and it tends to help.
James,
Making time for one's self is really important. Take a 15-30 minute walk outside if you cannot find an hour to get awat for lunch.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I catch myself not taking my dailey lunch break for two or three days. My mind tends to remind me after a couple of days and I usually have to force myself to leave campus, turn off my Blackberry and take my full hour. It really helps and I can tell, but later I still get back into that same cycle.
jim,
I agree. You need to take time for yourself.
Jeffrey Schillinger
This is always a toughie! I know from my friends and from my family, that I am a very relational person. I must schedule time for opportunities to be with family and personal interests or I find it very easy to spend time thinking about what needs to be done with course outlining, syllabi, grading, etc. Academia can easily be consuming so we must must must be intentional to block off times in our calendar or PDA for personal time.
Thanks for sharing this Juliet. People need to know that work is not everything. What are some things you do during the day at the office to keep your stress level down?
Jeffrey Schillinger
I usually go the gym and relax in the sauna for an hour each day, it relaxes you, makes you sweat out your impurities, and makes you feel good. I also attend a zumba class three times a week for an hour, it's great exercise and you leave feeling energized!
