Feeling overwhelmed? Me too (so how do I manage that?)
It’s the time of year again. The semester has past the halfway point, and we’ve officially entered the season of, “How much can I cram in before Thanksgiving (in the US)?” Last minute grant application? Sure 😎. Conference abstract deadline. Get that in by the end of the week? Okay 😏. The chair of that committee that hasn’t meant yet this semester suddenly must meet THIS WEEK. Can you be there? Maybe 😑. Mid-term grades are out now, and that student who you haven’t seen since week 1 shows up asking for extra credit. Do you have five minutes to chat? Yes 😓.
With each of these tiny moments the sense of overwhelm increases exponentially to the point where every activity feels like a marathon. Sound familiar? Yeah, me too.
So, what to do? Well over the course my professional career I’ve realized a couple of things:
1. Urgency doesn’t make me work better or faster. It just freaks me out and makes me miserable. If this approach works for you awesome! (You can probably skip this post) I don’t like working under this kind of pressure.
2. Calendar dates are just markers; they have no special power (but I was giving them the power to make myself miserable in the name of “productivity”).
At the same time, I realized that despite my best efforts I can’t do everything. I needed to let some things go. I had to start asking some sticky questions, like do I need to throw together another grant application or submit that conference abstract? Afterall, there will be another call for proposals, and most conferences happen every year. The timeliness of that data I collected last year is starting to wane, so maybe I focus on getting that manuscript submitted for publication instead.
Looking back on the progress I’ve made around reclaiming my time and energy and reducing overwhelm, one thing that I wish I had realized sooner was that I needed to find someone who wasn’t in my department or school to talk to. While your colleagues will be amazing resources for understanding the dynamics of your own school or university, they sometimes lack a broader perspective and at the same time have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo (especially if you are more junior to them).
Now this is not to suggest that your colleagues are purposively trying to sabotage you. That has never been my experience. However, it is important to recognize that as academics we exist within a system that rewards time in position, favors tradition, and is hard to change. All the people who have gone before us in the process have achieved some benefit from the system as it currently exists. Or at the same time, they’ve suffered through it and maybe you should too 😬 (kind of like residency).
For all these reasons finding someone outside of my sphere who understood higher ed, and what was needed to be successful therein, would have been beneficial. Someone who could offer me knowledgeable, but impartial feedback on my choices and decisions, and tell me when I was going overboard in ways that would be of little benefit long-term.
At the end of the day your career and professional development is a life-long endeavor. You will not make it if you are constantly overwhelmed and don’t find a way to cope with the realities of this world. Find a way to make it work for you. Don’t be afraid ask for some guidance. There are not extra points for making your professional life harder than it needs to be.
Looking for some next steps? Maybe I can help. Click here to find out more.
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