Dr. Melissa Read

Great point William! Sometimes when all emails come to a single inbox, it can feel overwhelming and hard to focus on what’s important. Segmenting your inbox into multiple folders is a great way to stay organized and get highest priority tasks accomplished.

Jennifer, if you’ve got a system that’s working for you, there’s no need to change. Do what makes sense for you.

Robert, I like the way you set aside time each day to actually work on the to do list. Though it’s an extra step, it’s a great time investment as you describe.

That is frustrating Eugene. When this happens, I remind students that I did not give them the grades, I’m just the reporter. Grades are something that students earn, a natural outcome of knowing or not knowing the exam material.

This is the first time I’ve heard that technique mentioned in my forums. But I think it’s a good one if it’s working well for you. What I like about it is that you are doing something productive while reducing stress.

To your point Eugene, sometimes the most stressful thing about teaching is realizing how much we’re going to be able to accomplish with each student. Each student has unique capabilities. Some students are quick to think on their feet. Some are naturally bright and motivated. Some have common sense. But only every once in a while do I find students who have all of these qualities. My strategy has always been to try to find the strengths of each student, and leverage those strengths when teaching them skills they’ll need in the workplace.

I’m glad to see your fourth bullet Glenn. When things get too stressful and when we feel like time is running out, it’s easy to forget why we became instructors in the first place. For many of us, we began working with students because was something we really enjoyed. It was fun. And doing fun things can reduce stress I our lives and really help us enjoy the time we have. So remembering to have fun in what you do is a great part of your strategy and I’m glad to see it here.

These are important points James. We must remind our students that they don’t ‘get grades,’ they ‘earn grades.’ Doing so can help inspire some students to get on track again.

Ronald, you have a lot of great ways to cope with your drive. Thanks for sharing. Of all the things you mentioned, perhaps the most important thing you do is leaving early... as doing so seems to help several other things fall into place.

Yes, when our tasks are documented on paper it is a lot easier to focus on other more important things.