How to plan for a semester that prioritizes wellbeing

In my experience, personal wellbeing rarely just happens. So this fall I am deliberately planning for it. I invite you to join me in this.

Hello and welcome to Academia Made Easier. I am so glad that you are here. 

A little less than a year ago, I began working with a coach. I was starting a new job in the second wave of a pandemic, working across two universities and two cities with a team of faculty, staff, and executives in residence whom I had (for the most part) never met in person. Some coaching seemed like a good idea.

Coaching is an interesting process, part work therapy, part feedback, almost entirely in the form of questions. What are the risks of A versus B? Who can help with that? What are the options to move that forward? 

One set of questions my coach frequently asks me is, “What will you be thinking and feeling once X [big project/goal/latest brass ring] is completed?” At first, I dodged this question. Who cares what I will be thinking and feeling? X will be done! That will be a victory, and I can move to the next thing. (Next. Next. Next.)

But over time, her repetition of the questions sunk in. What will I be thinking and feeling when X is done? Will I be proud of the accomplishment? Frustrated at the amount of work relative to the benefits? Exhausted from the effort? Excited about the new opportunities it presents?

Will I even notice X is done, or will I already be moving on to something else? (Next. Next. Next.)

Before every semester, I like to take a bit of time to create a bit of a plan. In the past, I have always used this hour to set accomplishment goals. This fall, I am trying a new approach. I invite you to join me in this.

Image source: Pixabay

One Small Thing to Try Immediately: The Backwards Semester Plan

This activity is best done with pen, paper or notebook, relaxing music, and a beverage of your choice. Chocolate is optional (but, as always, recommended).

🎯 Set your target date. Identify the last day of the semester for you - that is, the day you will start a break from work. (I am selecting Friday, December 17.) If you are teaching this semester and do not know when your final exams will be, identify the last day of the exam period and then add a few days for grading.

📝List your personal and professional “known knowns” for the semester. These are the realities you are working within. My own list:

Personal: I will be doing a lot of kid chauffeuring; due to my autoimmune disease, I need to prioritize wellbeing or pay heavy consequences. 

Professional: I have two major service duties above my normal work that will take a lot of time; my book project requires focused work to meet schedule; return to campus will undoubtedly have some challenges that need time and attention to address.

😑Select 2-3 words or phrases to capture how you want to feel at the end of the semester. For example: pleased (that my courses went well); excited (about my research); satisfied (that I prioritized weekends for family time); impressed (that I maintained my fitness schedule).

😫Tip: If you struggle with this, select words for how you don’t want to feel at the end of the semester. For example: exhausted; upset; depleted; angry. Use these words to identify the opposite feeling that you do want.

💣Anticipate failure. Cast your mind forward to your target date and imagine you do not feel the way you want. Brainstorm how you personally helped create this outcome. (Examples: I agreed to more service than I had time for. I regularly stayed up too late. I spent too much time grading.) To be sure, other things undoubtedly would also help create this imagined undesired future, but just identify things where you have agency.

🥴Tip: revisit your list of known knowns. In my experience, ignoring known knowns is the source of much grief.

🛠Plan your fixes. Identify strategies to address the ways you imagined contributing to your own failure. For example: 

I spent too much time grading ➡️ Hire a TA to assist with grading. Change some assignments to complete/incomplete. Develop rubrics.

I agreed to more service than I had time for. ➡️ Prepare a “thanks but no” response for future requests. Identify how much time I have available to promise this term.

✔️Decide your interventions and implement them.

What you are thinking and feeling at the end of the term matters. Taking a few steps now can help to increase your potential to end the term positively.

Chipping Away: What I Have Been Up To

A quick update on some of my own activities since my last newsletter, since I have your attention:

• I wrote a piece for University Affairs about how to get students to read the syllabus. If you have ever felt frustration answering student questions that are answered in your syllabus, this one's for you.

• Like many people in academia, I watched The Chair on Netflix. This show was of particular interest to me: in addition to being a former department head, I am a facilitator for the Centre for Higher Education Research and Development’s Heads and Chairs: Leading Academic Departments workshop. In these roles, I have heard a lot of chair stories and challenges. Thankfully, none were quite as dramatic as the story depicted in The Chair. 

• I learned an important lesson: If you are going to an in-person meeting and will be wearing a mask for hours, skip the cute hoop earrings. The two don’t pair well. 

Until next time…

A number of you reached out to tell me that completing the end of summer debrief helped to reframe the summer as a success and to prepare for the term ahead. If you have yet to try it, please invest the small amount of time to do so. You can do that one with a favorite beverage and chocolate as well.

Stay well, my colleagues. 

P.S. Did you watch The Chair? If so, what parts rang true for you? Please hit comment and let me know!

Loleen Berdahl, PhD: I am a twin mother, wife, runner, cat lover, and chocolate enthusiast. I spend far too much time on Twitter and binge-watching television, and my house could be a lot cleaner. During the work hours, I am the Executive Director of the  Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. I am the author of University Affair’s Skills Agenda column  and my most recent books are Work Your Career: Get What You Want from Your Social Sciences or Humanities PhD and Explorations: Conducting Empirical Research in Canadian Political Science.