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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Semi-Respite Open Thread: Handling Academic Stress

Semi-Respite Open Thread: Handling Academic Stress

by Anne Laurie|  March 26, 202010:03 am| 15 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, Healthcare

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When you work from home and your manager wants a word with you pic.twitter.com/XyapLRa5S7

— Persephone ???????????????????? (@Hughes87n) March 25, 2020

If you are in admin, please don't pressure your faculty like this. Many of us are dealing w/ stress of caregiving for children &/or elders & may have mental or physical health issues of our own, & all *during a freaking pandemic*. Productivity should not be the emphasis here. https://t.co/0jzzkXPFF3

— Dr. Tara C. Smith (@aetiology) March 24, 2020

Hard-earned tips from “Int’l Security prof @UTSC & @UofT, Chair WIIS-Canada, boxer. Author of award-winning book Jihad & Co.” —

Academic peeps: I've lived through many disasters. Here is my advice on "productivity". First, play the long game. Your peers who are trying to work as normal right now are going to burn out fast. They're doomed. Make a plan with a longer vision. /1

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

Third, any work that can be simplified, minimized, and flushed: FLUSH IT. Don't design a fancy new online course. It will suck & you will burn out. Choose the simplest solution for you & your students, with min admin. Focus on getting students feeling empowered & engaged. /3

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

Fifth, AFTER you experience the mental shift, build a schedule. Make a routine. Put it on a weekly calendar with time blocks. Wake up early. Put the most important parts first: food, family, fitness. Priority 1 is a stable home. Then add windows for achievable work goals. /5

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020


It's unreasonable to demand your body & brain do the same things under higher stress conditions. Some people can write in a war zone. I cannot. I wait until I get back. But I can do other really useful things under high stress conditions. Support your continuing mental shift. /7

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

And finally, we can check on our neighbours, reach out to isolated people, and volunteer or donate as we can. Because at the end of the day, our papers can wait.

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

@mariapage This is solid advice that you might appreciate. In addition to her tips, I’ve found that scheduling virtual time with loved ones helps immensely. I’m checking in with family daily and skyping with my closest friends every Sunday – it has changed everything.

— Daina Crafa (@DCrafa) March 19, 2020

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Reader Interactions

15Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    March 26, 2020 at 10:21 am

    It’s strange having worked from home in faculty support for 15+ years and being retired.

  2. 2.

    PenAndKey

    March 26, 2020 at 10:21 am

    “Accelerate research”?

    Seriously, what world is that dean living in where someone who doesn’t usually work remotely is going to manage that from home?

  3. 3.

    TriassicSands

    March 26, 2020 at 10:26 am

    I just listened to an interview with Dr. Fauci and he’s sounding more and more like a Trump apologist. I guess the word that Trump is losing patience with him got through. What’s next: Fauci appearing publicly wearing his bright red MAGA hat?

    Obviously, the top — only? — priority is keeping the sociopath healthy.

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    March 26, 2020 at 10:30 am

    @PenAndKey: I’m blessed with sane deans/higher-ups, which helps a lot. It also helps that most of our research is laboratory based, and hence even the densest dean (which, again, mine is not; she’s been very good so far through this crisis) would be forced to understand that things have to hiatus. Most of the scrambling has been to ramp up remote teaching, since that will start on Monday.

  5. 5.

    Immanentize

    March 26, 2020 at 10:31 am

    @raven: I bet they would take you back for a while on an emergency basis?

  6. 6.

    Immanentize

    March 26, 2020 at 10:33 am

    I am writing an amicus brief to the SCOTUS right now.  It is hard without access to my office, books, the library, research assistants, etc.  It won’t be my best ever effort, but by gum it will be filed on time! (April 1)

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 26, 2020 at 10:41 am

    @raven: You’re not bored are you? If so…..

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 26, 2020 at 10:46 am

    Via James Joyner: Social Distancing Led to Run on Pet Adoptions

    Here’s hoping these all become long term commitments.

  9. 9.

    BGinCHI

    March 26, 2020 at 10:47 am

    The hardest part of working from home right now are the endless “helpful” emails with 1001 strategies for doing something with technology that will make things better only after I spend hours on trial and error getting it to work.

    No thanks.

    I’m feeling better about getting work done by doing it in the way that it works for me right now.

    Yes, I am an old curmudgeon thanks for asking.

  10. 10.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2020 at 10:49 am

    @BGinCHI:

    Yes, I agree. I feel a lot of the faculty are disconnected from reality. I wish I could achieve that.

    I did four classes this past week. They were weird. I wonder how long we can sustain this. It was nice to see some sweet familiar faces, though.

  11. 11.

    BGinCHI

    March 26, 2020 at 11:01 am

    @zhena gogolia: I’m going to give them guided work to do, with clear instructions, study guides, and reading questions. Then I’ll do some chats and threads like here on the blog.

    I’m not planning to record lectures, or do anything fancy.

    I think a lot of that works for people who live to perform, and that’s fine. I’d rather them accomplish something that adds to the first 2/3 of the course. I want them to be able to do it and then move on with the many other things they have to do, and not constantly be hassled by my endless technological displays.

    Both my classes (my third class was a semester in 8 weeks that I thankfully finished before all this hit) are drama courses, and we only have 3 plays left in each. So….simpler is better I think.

  12. 12.

    Feathers

    March 26, 2020 at 11:16 am

    Very bad advice, because men will be able to do this in a way that women can’t. And before you go on about how great and involved a father you or someone you know are, there was a study that showed granting paternity leave to male faculty worsened their female colleagues tenure chances, because the women took maternity leave to care for their new baby, while men used the time to up their publication rate.

    But yeah, having done faculty support, the dean is probably seeing someone who is grinding like grad school and trying to warn the others. Or there is some asshole breathing down their neck. Or they’re the asshole.

    I love that Apple’s predictive text suggests Ashley when I’m typing asshole.

  13. 13.

    artem1s

    March 26, 2020 at 11:17 am

    But this morning’s work session is completely blown by an email from my Dean telling faculty to “accelerate research” during this period.

    This is probably a pretty common request right now.  Had a meeting myself with my PI about research revenue for the next few months.

    Lots of institutions are dealing with reduced revenue from tuition, room & board, and donations. The one place they may be able to maintain some cash flow is by completing existing research contracts and grants. Our tenured PI will get paid regardless. The rest our staff, not so much, if we can’t maintain some sort of product and revenue from our existing contracts.  Keeping the work going where we can is our first priority.  We are all making adjustments to our productivity but slowly figuring out what we can and can’t do, with an eye on keeping people employed for the duration (with healthcare benefits and sick leave if needed).  It will be an added bonus if we can help keep cash flowing into the university and help them from having to make deep staffing cuts and layoffs – and to our subs who depend on our pass thru for their livelihoods. Of course the trick is all in the messaging and how you communicate that urgency to those who salaries aren’t grant dependent.

  14. 14.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2020 at 11:52 am

    @BGinCHI:

    I might retreat to this. I’ve been having discussions online, and I think some of the students are enjoying it but others look terribly bored. I’ll probably try to get some kind of response from them soon as to whether we should continue this way.

    At this point they are not going on the blog-like forum at all. I was hoping to reproduce BJ but it isn’t working yet.

  15. 15.

    Lyrebird

    March 26, 2020 at 10:27 pm

    @Immanentize: You are a wonder! And my school would hire @raven:  in a snap, yes.

    I do know that many people teach excellent courses online, but they usually plan them that way, and having the kids at home… I have now posted a teaching video where my students can probably make out the “potty!” announcements in the background.

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