Coming to the end of my first finals week, I’m learning that it is really important to set boundaries with students.
While I have a habit of working late into the night (it’s the only time I have to really work on my own stuff, and the ideas seem to come together better), I need to keep to the 9-5 email schedule I set at the beginning of the semester. Early on, I was in the habit of answering all emails as soon as possible, even those that arrived at ridiculous hours of the night/morning. Well, Saturday night that bit me in the ass.
I had just finished up the final paper that I had to do for the semester, and was heading off to get some sleep when my phone indicated (loudly) that I had a message. As it was 12am (and I was in no state to be discussing anything with a student), I decided to ignore it. About 15 minutes later, the phone went off again. I’m not certain if this is just me, but when something disturbs me when I’m trying to fall asleep, it resets the entire process. This happened two more times before I decided to just shut my phone completely off.The next morning I had 7 emails from 4 different students asking me either look at their thesis or explain where it is that they can find the Error Tracking log (because I guess it moved since midterms? Nope, still on Blackboard). Yeah, that was a fun Sunday morning.
Edit: I guess I should also mention that the majority of the emails were for things that were due to Blackboard Sunday morning. This isn’t so much about late night emails as it is about people expecting quick responses at late hours.
This brings me to my second revelation: printouts are probably going to be my best friend. Any time I post something on Blackboard, state that it can be found on Blackboard during class, and email out a reminder that IT IS ON BLACKBOARD, I still receive a few emails asking if I can send the student a copy (or asking where it is that they can find it). Cleaning out my messages after the semester ends is going to be fun. I’m almost positive I received around 100 during reading week. Sadly, this is not hyperbole.
But hey, I no longer have to work retail during Black Friday or Christmas Eve. So, there’s that… I guess?