Each semester has an ebb and flow. Sometimes an unexpected wave crashes over you, and I’ve talked about how I worked through those situations before.
I hope you’re not dealing with emergencies that are disrupting your semester. It’s likely, if you’re like most other faculty I know, you’re being hit by the post-spring-break tsunami of grading, projects, and meetings.
Last week I shared some of my ideas with my newsletter subscribers. I hope the following ideas provide some encouragement and relief for this time of the semester.
Keep Up with your Routines
I know. I know! Who has time for routines and habits when everything is crashing around me? That’s the most important time to keep the routines and effective habits you’ve built. You don’t need to create a new system, just keep following the system.
Don’t skip the daily walk because you have “no time for that.” I have a workday-startup and workday-shutdown routine. I work to keep those going even when things feel overwhelming.
When I’m in overwhelm mode, I often freeze – I can’t figure out what to work on next, and avoid my work. Keeping my morning routine going helps me get started, which is often what it takes to get me moving and out of overwhelm. Once I’m working, I am not usually thinking about the other things I need to be doing.
Set Weekly and Daily Priorities
Take charge of where you spend your time and energy. Don’t let the fires that show up in email or while someone is standing right in front of you redirect your time and energy unless you take the time to think about it and decide it is the best use of your time and energy. Remember your highest contributions and the work that aligns with your mission. Attempt to keep those things in your schedule – even if for only 15 minutes here and there.
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash
Eliminate what you can
Not everything needs to be done. And some things need to be done, but not now. So, Consider each opportunity (or demand) on your time and energy. Does it need to be done by you at all? Does it need to be delegated? Or just removed from your mind, crossed off your list, and forgotten?
I recently read this post about triaging your to-do list for the end of the semester. There are some excellent ideas here by Loleen Berdahl(@loleen_berdahl).
I’m following her advice as I did my weekly planning today. I know what I have to get done by May 15 — and what can wait until the fall. That brings us to the next point.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Push off Deadlines
If you do need to do it, and it’s not your most important work, determine if it is time sensitive. Can it wait until fall? Can it wait at least until finals week or after grades are submitted? Some things on my to-do list can just wait until Fall…I don’t need to do them before the semester is done and I for sure don’t need to do them over the summer.