Life of an Adjunct: Why Am I So Tired?
As an educator, the last 14 months have been — to be kind — a challenge. Hats off to teachers, from those who teach our toddlers to the doctoral adviser. Hats off to the students who dug in their heels and went the extra steps to try their best not to let grades slip in a virtual learning environment.
However, did you know that even before the pandemic, teachers make over 1000 decisions each day? It’s exhausting, according to an article published on teachthought.com, “Teaching isn’t rocket science; it’s harder.”
My mom taught elementary school for over 35 years. She left in the morning at about 7:20 and was home by 3:30 or so in the afternoon. As a teen, I thought it was odd (and perhaps a bit problematic) that most afternoons, she would come home literally dragging herself in the door. First, she would nap for an hour or so, and then she would cook dinner, grade papers, and be in bed by 10 p.m. Rinse and repeat.
Then I started teaching. In my 50s. Not in the K-12 age groups. Not six or seven hours, five days a week. I was an adjunct professor — a part-time college instructor. Yet, I would come home exhausted. Even if I only taught for a few hours. Why? How could leading a class be an activity that would cause such debilitating fatigue? It doesn’t matter whether I’m lecturing, working with students (while sitting) in a computer lab, or teaching a class virtually via Zoom. Coffee and Diet Coke have become my best friends because they invigorate me and keep me feeling alert when I need a quick pick-me-up.
The research I’ve done on my own suggests I’m on the path to burnout. However, I don’t think that’s where I am because I don’t fit most of the criteria. I can, however, definitively state the mental exhaustion teaching remotely was undoubtedly part of the fatigue during these past few semesters. Still, it doesn’t explain the same “brain drain” and when teaching in a face-to-face environment.
I will say that I often felt exhausted after teaching each day. The mental load of making sure everything was working right in the classroom, combined with the constant sense of doom in the world around us, made this a challenging semester mentally. I’m sure this was even more true for some of my students. But we made it. — Jeremy Horpedahl
Here’s what I’ve found often helps combat that feeling of wanting to run to the closest Starbucks:
- Drink plenty of water. While teaching, sip on water frequently. Your students will love this because you’ll need a bathroom break every 50 minutes or so.
- Get enough sleep at night. Set boundaries. Commiserate with your colleagues.
- If you’re using high-impact assignments, writing-intensive papers or group projects — anything “labor intensive” — be sure to allow ample time for both you and your students to complete the tasks. For example, Halonen & Dunn offer some excellent tips on avoiding burnout and mental fatigue, including avoiding intensive feedback on every assessment and, if your learning management systems allow it, provide audio feedback. They also encourage grading rubrics and a list of commonly used statements you might give for assignments.
- Don’t stand the entire time you lecture. Sit on a stool or lean on a table. Use a microphone if you feel you’re overusing your voice.
- And the last is one I love best, from a post on Quora responding to the inquiry, “Are all teachers totally exhausted or is it just me?” to which this teacher of 30-plus years responded, “We’re zonked. Yet we never get enough sleep somehow…Take your vitamins, exercise when you can, and leave the classroom at school. That’s a start.”
