Michael Howe

The road to stress free living:

Choosing to eliminate or reduce stressors is the first step. One needs to identify what stresses them, & make a list & then identify which can be eliminated, or can be reduced.

Ways to eliminate stressors:

• Create rules to curb reoccurring issues.
• Get help with items
• Just slow down and think about it.

Ways to reduce stressors:

• Drink water
• Make small changes
• Take classes on understanding things that stress you out.

Healthy ways to handle stressors that can not be eliminated or greatly reduced:

• Share experiences
• Exercise
• Breathing
• Stretching
• Getting enough sleep

Ways to… >>>

Identifying what stress is is the best place to start. It is identified in symptoms such as headaches, back pain, & upset stomach. It is defined as the conflict between goals & capabilities.

Causes of stress in the work place can come from many things, such as stands to meet, conflict, the commute, inadequate teaching experiences, keeping up with technology, and difficult teaching environments.

Causes of stress in ones personal life can come from many areas, such as juggling responsibilities, expectations from family & friends, & responsibilities to others.

The consequences of a stressful life will affect your health, &… >>>

Making more time for you:

• Steam line lecture prep. Do it right the first time.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel, build from other courses, lectures ect.
• Streamline the grading process. DO on line grading when possible & appropriate.
• Home work can be graded by other students in groups, but I have all homework as on line & speed graded in canvas.
• Use Technology, We are doing this now in Canvas, & the text publishers tests & set up as speed graded in the LMS.

This was more of a review than anything for me, but it was a great review.

Taking control of your time:

There are certain obstacles in taking control of ones time. Here are some:

• Control, be sure to over budget for time on a task, show up on time for meetings & such.
• Procrastination, Complete it now !!!!  95% of people procrastinate, 15% to 20% are chronic.
• Immediacy, Be careful with this one, 40% of the workforce struggles with this one. It can be self defeating, makes you tired & allows for more mistakes. You need
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Emotional intelligence is defined as a set of abilities to:

• Manage ones self
• Manage relationships with others
• Managing means, to adjust habits when we interact with others.

Persons with high “EQ” will be a better “soft skill” problem solver, while a person with a high “IQ” will be a better “Hard skill” problem solver.

4 tips to help improve soft skills are:

• Be aware of your emotions
• Choose your emotions
• Manage your emotions
• Control the progression of your emotions

“EQ” is so important because poor “EQ” can cause, poor mental & physical health, can cause poor workplace performance, &… >>>

Soft skills ( people skills ) are what helps you relate to others, while hard skills are the technical skills we have.

These skills include, but are not limited to the following:

• Good listener
• Accepts & gives feedback positively
• Positive attitude
• Motivates others
• Has tact
• Is always sincere

This list includes positive workplace behaviors. A short list is:

• Manage stress well
• Always in a good mood
• Helps solve problems
• Takes criticism well & builds from it
• Always a good appearance
• Possesses  good self discipline
• Always welcomes change
• Is always ambitious

The top 10 soft skills are defined, in no… >>>

Very interesting break down of stress & burnout & how to manage it.  Some take away’s I have are:

How to recognize causes of burnout & stress:

The 3 areas of this are:

1. Emotional
2. Mental
3. Physical

Causes are work related or person / life  related.

Some work related causes can be:

• Lack of control
• Pressure ( work load)
• Lack of resources
• Poor leadership
• Lack of support

Some person related causes can be:

• Being a perfectionist
• Having unrealistic standards
• Being a type “A” personality

Life related causes can be:

• Lack of social support
• Lack of leisure time
• Spreading ones
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The impact on education can be huge while practicing “EI”. Considering a less linear approach to teaching some subject matter, from the intelegences, to student , to instructor can work in some cases,& I will consider this. If I find a good fit for this I will be sure to use rubrics to assess the content. Assessing in this way, one needs to consider & know the actual outcomes that are desired.

Most importantly the ongoing use of “EI” is paramount, & this is what I will be striving for. This “holistic” approach will help me help the students “learn… >>>

We learn from many different aspects, not a linear path. This helps us attain new knowledge & how to use it. Traits that were learned & will be used / reinforced upon are: Learn from mistakes, re-evaluate you views, recover from failures, make your own luck, push for what you believe in, actions are louder than words.. This is an ongoing process that never stops.

As well, we need to plan for teaching to multiple intelligences. Each student has their own mix. We can consider competency, holistic, & inclusive based learning, to build on this.

Fluidity is the best part… >>>

Empathy & motivation are very important. Empathy is the ability to take another’s perspective while remaining non-judgmental. This comes from a meta cognitive awareness. I have been good at this & will continue to expand on this. Motivation is so important, it moves people. Emotional intelligence & motivation works hand in hand, as you need to approach students properly to motivate them in a positive way. The impact that this has learning is that the wellbeing of a student sets up a very positive learning environment. This comes thru the 3 “T”’s. Transmission, Transactional, & Transformational.   All three of these… >>>