It is usually surprising to many when I mention that I work seven days week. I’m a teacher, shouldn’t I have a cushy, 8 to 3 schedule, with weekends, holidays, Winter break, Spring break, and an extended summer break? Not in the online classroom…
As I’ve mentioned before, there are numerous positives and negatives to being an online instructor but one of the most difficult to adjust to was expectation of availability 7 days a week. For every school I’ve taught for, instructors are expected to check question forums within the course and their faculty email daily – even on weekends and holidays.
Honestly, I think that the seven-day work week is a major problem with the field of online education. Instructors need breaks to refresh and regroup to be the best instructors possible and the rigorous work schedule can quickly lead to frustration and burn out even in the most dedicated instructors.
Coming from a more traditional teaching background, this was very difficult for me to balance at first. Once I was logged into the classroom it was easy to fall down the rabbit hole – grading papers, reading discussion boards, etc. each day.
While I still do work seven days a week , in my 6 years as an online educator, I’ve become more protective of my time and better at structuring and separating my work life from my every day life to provide myself with needed breaks and respite from the computer.
For example, I check questions first thing on Saturday morning and then turn the computer off and leave it until Sunday afternoon. Sometimes I am able to go as many as 30 hours without checking for questions. My schools require that I respond to all student questions within 24-48 hours, so I am still well-within the allowed time-frame. I’ll admit, sometimes, when I know there is a great deal that I could accomplish in a course, I’ll be tempted to login to my classrooms on a Saturday afternoon, but forcing myself to take that break, usually means I’ll be more productive the following week.
Also, I’ve learned to utilize tools provided by the schools that can make my life a bit easier. For example, if I am traveling over a weekend, I no longer take my computer with me since I can utilize my phone to check my email and check for questions. Some schools even have apps designed to make utilizing the classroom easy and efficient. This helps me to disconnect and recharge – while still meeting my seven-days a week availability obligation.
For those working a full-time job while teaching online in an adjunct position, I think it would be more difficult to take a weekend break as grading, discussion board posts, etc. would likely fall to the weekend to be accomplished. However, I do think it is possible with late nights or early mornings during the work week.
Being an online instructor is a much more rigorous profession than what many imagine. However, with proper time management and organization, it’s possible to be a successful instructor and still have a break from the classroom, despite working seven days a week.
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
