Import Test : Doing Too Much

In Praise of Slowness - Links and Resources

Matt Scales — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:34:40 GMT

“I am a possibilist. I believe that humanity is master of its own fate... Before we can change direction, we have to question many of the assumptions underlying our current philosophy. Assumptions like bigger is better; you can't stop progress; no speed is too fast; globalization is good. Then we have to replace them with some different assumptions: small is beautiful; roots and traditions are worth preserving; variety is the spice of life; the only work worth doing is meaningful work; biodiversity is the necessary pre-condition for human survival.”
- Robert Bateman

The following list of links and resources have been compiled for the Professional Day session "In Praise of Slowness: Finding a Balance between Work and Life while Teaching in a Lower Gear" to be presented at Middlesex Community College on April 7, 2006. Participants in the session, as well as visitors to the blog are welcome to make use of these resources and to use the comments link following this entry to discuss any of the issues raised. The presentation and the posted resources are an outgrowth of the ongoing COPPER blog theme of "doing too much."

Links:

Teaching in a lower gear:
http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/ifc051101.html

Maurice Holt's initial article that is credited with starting the "slow teaching movement" http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0212hol.htm

Another article by Holt which I think gets to the heart of this movement more directly than the previous one:
http://www.lean-service.co.uk/6-28.asp

Copper Blog discussion of the topic Doing too Much:
http://middlesex.blogs.com/copper/2004/10/best_of_the_blo.html

Copper Blog entries on the topic of Doing too Much:
http://middlesex.blogs.com/copper/doing_too_much/index.html

Readings (The resources below have received a number of positive reviews and are related to the theme of life balance, but I cannot personally vouch for them with the exception of the first title). More titles may be added as they come to our attention in the future:

In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore (HarperCollins, 2004)

American Mania: When More is not Enough by Peter Whybrow (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005)

Creative Time Management for the New Millennium by Jan Yager (Hannacroix Creek Books, 1999)

Downshifting by John Drake (Berett-Koehler, 2000)

Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America by John de Graaf, Editor (Berett-Koehler, 2003)

Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information and Technology by Jan Jasper (St. Martins, 1999)

The Overworked American by Juliet Schor (HarperCollins, 1991)

"Doing Too Much" Comments

Matt Scales — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 13:24:00 GMT

Note: The three rather lengthy posts from March 10, 11, 12 are copies of the comments from three of our discussions that have occurred over the last two years. The were reproduced to assist in the publication of a draft copy of a blog book that is underway. The book will be a paper version of our online site that will be produced in limited quantities. These posts will be removed within a few days (the comments will still be available in their normal location). Thanks to everyone that has made contributions to these discussions and to others over the course of the last two plus years.

Comments from discussion of the topic “Doing Too Much”:

First of all, I want to publicly thank you, Don, for all your efforts in creating and maintaining this site. Even though this is my first entry, I have enjoyed a number of topics and links you have offered.
As to this topic of doing too much, I see it as an epidemic in our society. We have become 'doing creatures'. I see it not only in my work, namely teaching five courses while undertaking committee work and coming up to speed with new learning technologies, but I see it with colleagues, friends, and our students. Sadly, as a society we average 50 weeks per year of work compared to 45-46 weeks for our European counterparts. This is the reward for being technologically advanced and more and more efficient and productive in the workplace.
Yes, we can manage time ever more efficiently, but is that the answer? I am more interested in our need, desire, expectation to do more and more. What is it in our culture that demands such performance? In the business world, it is to create more profit. If I can do two jobs rather than one, and then do it more efficiently, my productivity will bring greater rewards to my company, and hopefully, to me. In education, we are more and more looking to business as a model to replicate.
My greatest concern lies with our students. At the 'upper end' we push our kids to do more to build their credentials to get into the best school (so they eventually will get into the best graduate school and get the best job and... At the 'middle and lower ends', we see students running right to work from class, putting in 40 hour weeks while taking 4 or 5 courses.
Is it any wonder that caffeine and cigarettes are the drugs of choice today.
My other fear is that we are more and more being defined by our achievements. The more I do, the more I am. Who are we outside of our achievements? Where is our free time or time to be with others? Can we simply be, rather than be driven to do? My intuition tells me we got off track somewhere. In some ways, although it may be blasphemous to say, I am more interested in doing less, and being more.

Posted by: Bob Fera | March 22, 2004 10:02 PM

I was tempted to read Dons' statement and move on without commenting. After all, I have so many other things to do before my classes today! I stopped and recognized that by scurrying around and skipping the opportunity to express myself, I was allowing the work load to push me into isolation which makes me feel more overwhelmed and more overworked.
So writing a comment here is the equivalent of the old cup of coffee in the morning, coffee which I do not drink anymore.
Then came the Preview button before posting. Here is another trap. The trap of perfection and judging. So I read what I was writing and decided it was not good enough. I had to write something meaningful or not write anything at all. You can see that I overcame that trap since you are reading this.
One last hurdle: Am I sure I want to post this? Is this how "hurdle" is spelled? Is there spell check in blog writing?
Well enough brain chatter! here it goes. i am pressing the Post button and there is no going back. I am not even changing the h and i to capital letters!!!!

Posted by: Hayat Weiss | March 24, 2004 09:18 AM

Hayat, I'm so glad you took the "time" and the "risk" to post here. We want this to be an environment that is on the "informal" side, and encourages one to drop by and post easily. I understand the desire to express our ideas clearly and avoid errors since what we write is being viewed by our peers. I feel a bit of that anxiety every time I post something here.

For what it's worth, I can edit any comments that are posted, so if anyone notices a spelling error or wishes to make any changes in their original message, just let me know. But I encourage members not to be too concerned about perfection when posting here. We're looking for a free exchange of ideas, feelings, and information.

By the way, there are programs that can provide us with the spell check feature when using any computer program that uses text (including here). I'm experimenting with a trial version of one. I'll post the link for anyone who is interested.

Posted by: Don Margulis | March 24, 2004 10:27 AM

Bob and Hayat,

I am following your lead and putting aside the resumes I am reviewing right now, in order to take the time to reply to this topic. Bob, as I read your post, I knew I could not “leave” the site without replying, as your last paragraph struck a chord within me. You wrote:
“…My other fear is that we are more and more being defined by our achievements. The more I do, the more I am. Who are we outside of our achievements? Where is our free time or time to be with others? Can we simply be, rather than be driven to do? My intuition tells me we got off track somewhere. In some ways, although it may be blasphemous to say, I am more interested in doing less, and being more.”

I was once married to a young man who had a chronic illness that was eventually to become fatal. But early in the disease, when we were still 20-somethings and I saw many of our friends and family members “getting ahead”, I made a comment to my husband about his total lack of interest in jumping on the “fast track”. I will never forget what he said – it eventually became the philosophy by which we lived our lives and raised our children, and I continue to carry this philosophy with me, in my head and in my heart, more than 20 years later, well beyond his death. He said, “When I am lying in the hospital at the end of my life, whenever that will be, the people that I impressed on my “way up” won’t be standing around the bed with me. Only my friends and family will be there, and my memories of times well spent with them, and so that is where I plan to put my energy while I’m alive.”

This past January, after nearly three years here in “higher ed”, I decided to look into pursuing a doctorate. Maybe it was a “midlife crisis” decision; maybe it was simply a wise professional decision. I enrolled in a doctoral-level course for the semester while I put my application paperwork in order, but also made myself a promise that I would make my final decision about pursuing the degree in full force at the end of the semester.

It didn’t take me that long. The course is an excellent course; that wasn’t the issue. The most important lesson I have learned in these past two months is that I don’t want to maintain this pace for the next 5 years – the price is more than I wish to pay. I find myself moving in fast forward all the time now, stressed from juggling too many tasks, with no down time, no time for relaxing, for reading a book for pleasure, for sitting in front of the fireplace with my husband, for growing plants, children, and pets (!), for cooking, for spending time outside, and for “the sheer pleasure of doing nothing”.

Last week I reminded myself that it is who I am, not what I have achieved, that defines me, and so I made the decision not to pursue the degree. Rather than feeling the regret that some thought I might, all I feel is a sense of relief that I didn’t feel compelled to stay on the “fast track”, that I decided not to sacrifice what is essential to my enjoyment of my life in order to accumulate what might be considered a societal “marker of success”. I am happy to be doing less, rather than more! (The flip side of this is that my children were also raised with this philosophy of valuing family, friends, and experiences over accomplishments, and it is all well and good for me to give myself permission to “do less”, but I find it very difficult to watch any of my children apply this philosophy to their lives! Of course, this is my problem, not theirs!)

Posted by: Elise Martin | April 6, 2004 05:05 PM

I am touched by your reply, Elise. Thank you.
Fate can be our greatest teacher, if we are paying attention to what is presented to us. Otherwise, if we are too busy, distracted, overly ambitious, we can miss important lessons. Maybe this is also one of the prices of multi-tasking- we miss the most obvious as we attempt to juggle so many balls at once.
Your disclosure about decisions you and your husband made are precious. When we are reminded, or forced to confront our mortality, we can choose to become bitter, or recognize the value of being alive and the 'spectacularity' of the moment. This may sound like some Buddhist existentialism, but I speak from experience. I have learned so much from my daughter's long-standing chronic illness, lessons about courage, endurance, resilience, joy, and intimacy. Crises can bring people closer together. Coming to the edge of life invites one to consider the priorities in life. Otherwise, we imagine our immortality and busy ourselves past the day.

Yesterday, I happened to walk out of class with a student in my class. We descended the stairs of Lowell Federal and pushed out the front doors to a warm, sunny April day. She stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath while enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays. She smiled and said ' I've stolen another day. It's amazing to be alive". She was beaming.
I looked at her in pure joy. You see, my student is dying of cancer, and she has been told again and again she should have died months ago. In class, she is so present, hanging on every word, every lesson, sharing what she has learned, respecting her classmates and myself. She prizes each moment, truly understanding the alternative beckoning her. My daughter, and my student have taught me more than any class, any degree. As much as I have wished away my daughter's suffering, and as much as I would like to wave a magic wand and cure my student, something would be lost in the transaction. It may be a cruel irony, but it is what I have been given.

Posted by: Bob Fera | April 7, 2004 01:35 PM

"The way to do is to be". Lao Tzu

Posted by: george medelinskas | April 12, 2004 10:19 AM

I think in education one of the saddest reasons we do too much is the pressure from our own colleagues. Education is sometimes seen as a field where you should do more without reward to show your dedication to your students and your calling as a teacher. This attitude sometimes makes us feel guilty if we take the time to relax or say no to projects because we really don't have the time.

But maybe our being an example to students of people who live life well is better for our own sanity and theirs.

Posted by: Rick Lizotte | April 12, 2004 10:56 AM

Thanks to one and all for your comments here. First, Don you'll be happy to know that your latest email got me to the blog to read the exchange on the doing too much topic. I appreciate Bob and Elise's stories and knowing them personally what the experiences that gave birth to these expressions have done for them. Also thanks to Hyatt for her courage to be human in her posting. I identified with everything she wrote and have had all the same thoughts. Thanks also for the other two postings from the folks I don't know personally but want them to know I appreciate their comments. I don't have any words of wisdom to add but sometimes, maybe it's good to direct one's gratitude to particular recipients. Thanks to all. Maybe I'll get to that Zen meditation I've been meaning to do more regularly. Naw, I have to read essay drafts for student conferences tomorrow. I'm sure they're counting on my words of wisdom to improve their writing.

Posted by: Stan Hitron | April 12, 2004 03:47 PM

I greatly appreciate the postings by Hayat and Elise.

I understand Hayat's difficulty in pressing the "Post" button, because I frequently get caught in the write, read, rewrite, reject cycle. I'll think about her words every time I'm tempted to say nothing instead of saying something imperfect. Now you're my teacher, Hayat, and I haven't even met you yet!

I also appreciate Elise's dilemma and decision. The habit of working day and night is shared by lots of teachers (and others, I'm sure). It's not a habit that we should encourage in each other, even though our work is very important. It's so easy to get caught up in producing the artifacts of a full professional life. I don't want to trivialize that, because I hope that some of those artifacts are people that think a bit better because we helped them see the joy of learning. But we shouldn't have a full professional life at the cost of having any other life.

I'm looking for the line between dedication and foolishness. I think that Elise knows where it is.

Posted by: Lisa Armour | April 13, 2004 05:58 PM

I think the fact that I have only now taken the time to read the postings that have been up for more than a month, speaks to my being caught up in the "doing" mode. I am very moved by Elise and Bob's honesty. I too have been forced to reevaluate my priorities. But, I needed to be reminded of that, thanks.

Posted by: phyllis gleason | April 28, 2004 12:41 PM

I was actually thinking about this topic today as I raced into the office to take care of several issues before the weekend sets in. As a psychologist, I will often advise clients or students that we are not being fair to ourselves or others if we don't take care of ourselves because we won't be giving the best of ourselves to them. I have had a much easier time applying that to my Mom role than my Professor role. It occurred to me this morning that my students are better served if I make myself take time to relax, work out, or at least say "no" to the tasks that aren't crucial to my primary role as an educator.

Posted by: Diane Ashe | June 11, 2004 10:41 AM

One of the outcomes of "doing too much" is that it can have a negative impact on our physical health. What follows is an excerpt from the book "Human Dynamics" by Sandra Seagal and David Horne. David Marsing, a plant manager for Intel, describes the effect of job stress on his health and the reflective process that eventually led to a different approach to his work and a different work environment for his employees. The passage is a bit lengthy, but I found it compelling and relevant to our theme.

"I had been in this new factory for about a month. It was having serious problems... I was hell-bent on turning it around as quickly as possible.... I put so much pressure on myself that after a month I had a heart attack. I knew exactly what behavior triggered it and how I ended up lying on a gurney with the sensation that an elephant was trying to sit on my chest.

As it happened, I was fortunate. I didn't do any real damage to my heart. But afterward, the doctor came in and suggested that I needed to reflect on whether having this kind of career was really a smart thing. When I asked if he could be more specific, he said, "Yes. I wouldn't do the job that you are doing anymore." Well, I spent about two to three months recovering from this episode, and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I considered doing forestry and sitting in a watchtower, or being a librarian in a library that isn't used much. But on an intuitive level, I had the sense that I could continue my work without this kind of pressure and, in fact, get even better results. I didn't know how I was going to do it but I just knew at a gut level that it was possible, and that the approach I had been taking and the system I was in would have to be changed.

I began to focus on the balance between work and personal life and the integration of these two realities. I think one of the biggest things I realized coming back to work was that I had antennae I never had before. And these antennae were picking up signals from people all around me who were having a difficult time at work. They were doing their jobs, but they were in pain--emotionally, spiritually, and physically. People were just grinding themselves up--they were on the same treadmill I had been on. I had never been aware of that before, never realized to what degree the people around me were really suffering. That was a big eye-opener.

I asked myself what it would take to create an environment where people had a balanced approach to work and their personal lives, and where we could get breakthrough performance at the same time...

I figured achieving this was worth a try. So I began to work at creating an environment where the emphasis was on the people themselves..."

Marsing goes on to describe how he used the Human Dynamics approach to teamwork to significantly change the working environment.

Posted by: Don Margulis | June 18, 2004 05:08 PM

Don writes, "Are you feeling the push? Have you developed strategies to avoid being overextended? Can you manage information effectively? Are you good at setting limits? Are there ways to accomplish more given your available time and energy? How do we create that valuable “space” between the multiple activities of our life?"

Don,
I think I replied to this last spring when you first posted it, as well! I have re-experienced that sense of being much too overextended in the last few months - I can't get to the bottom of my desk, I find myself working more and more reactively and less proactively, which is not my preferred style, and I feel too harried to stop for any length and have a human conversation with friends and colleagues - let alone have LUNCH w/o work in front of me!

I am not bragging - this is not a positive thing. I watched my daughter run her first marathon yesterday and thought about beginning the same training program she used, so that I might run a marathon in the next year. Then I thought to myself, "I don't have time for the training program." And that's the truth. On the drive home, I thought long and hard about it, and I have decided that with the exception of my online teaching responsibilities, I am not going to check my college email at night or on weekends anymore. This will be hard - I am an email and Blackboard junkie! I check my email every night, and those that can be answered fairly quickly and easily get answered then. But responding to 10 emails at night adds an extra hour to my workday - from 8-9 hours to 9-10 hours. Add a few hours on Sunday to "get ready for the workweek", and we're all up to working 50-60 hrs/wk. Why do we do that?

Not for the purpose of improving the quality of our lives - the quality of my life is deteriorating, not improving! I rarely have time to take my dog for a walk after work, if I decide to go to the gym instead, which I feel I should be doing, since I'm middle-aged and I SIT all day!!!

Not because our institutions require it - with rare exceptions, no one that I work for would ever say to me, "Elise, I want you to finish that over the weekend." Of course, sometimes things come up, but it is certainly not expected on a regular basis.

I think that one of the reasons we work longer days is because we are becoming slaves to the technology that affords us the opportunity to be connected 24/7, and I am a technology proponent! So I'm trying to build better balance in my life, trying to leave time at home at night to read a book for fun or try a new recipe for dinner or take my dog for a long walk, and I'm turning over that new leaf by first disconnecting from the information source - my laptop - that sits on my kitchen counter - and now that I think of it, I'm going to move it out of the hub of my house, at the same time!

And I think another reason we may work such long workweeks is because it has become "the thing to do", and as a "professional" (whatever that means) you are apt to raise some eyebrows if you tell your colleagues that you are NOT overworked and stressed - if you get up from your chair at the end of a REASONABLE work day, while it's still light out, even if there are still items left to be taken care of on your desk, and put on your coat and smile and say goodnight to your colleagues who are still hard at work at their desks. We do it to ourselves and each other, and then we complain about it! I need to get off this merry-go-round!

We all know, or we should, that working day and night is definitely not going to earn us a better spot in heaven! But, as someone said to me today in the Ladies' Room (great place for casual conversations!), it may get us there sooner!

Posted by: Elise Martin | November 1, 2004 02:56 PM

Thank You! Thank You! I found this thread powerful and renewing. I didn't get to it until now....months and months after it began. I appreciate the sharing of those who have responded over the months. I have been struggling with these issues and your words helped me know that I may continue to struggle but in such kind and loving company. Thanks.

Posted by: Sandra DeVellis | December 8, 2004 09:13 PM

In Praise of Slowness

Matt Scales — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 01:00:00 GMT

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-Gandhi

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

One of the original COPPER themes and a topic that generated the most lively discussion in our blog's two plus years of existence was the issue of "teaching too much" which evolved into a broader discussion of "doing too much." While a number of thoughtful replies detailed the stress that our busy lives create, there were no clear strategies for addressing this dilemma. However, what became evident is that we are not alone in dealing with the demands of a fast-paced life with multiple commitments.

In his book In Praise of Slowness, author and journalist Carl Honore describes how the cult of speed has impacted the lives of millions of people worldwide. He also details how a surprisingly organized international movement (The Slow Movement or Slow Philosophy) has challenged this trend. From the Slow Food Movement, Slow Cities initiative, to the Slow Sex approach, individuals and groups are making conscious choices not to burn themselves and their environments out in the pursuit of speed and efficiency.

Of particular interest to our community is the "slow schooling" movement, stimulated by the work of Maurice Holt, professor emeritus of education at the University of Colorado, Denver. In his article The Nature and Purpose of Education, Holt uses food and the process of eating as a metaphor for learning. While the slow schooling approach has had an impact in the K-12 community, many of its principles are applicable to higher education as well. Active learning strategies such as problem-based learning, cooperative and collaborative learning, learning communities, seminars and the "less is more" philosophy all slow down the speed of content coverage in order to make learning a more meaningful and powerful experience.

"The whole struggle of life is to some extent a struggle about how slowly or how quickly to do each thing."
-Sten Nadolny, author of The Discovery of Slowness (1996)

Honore' emphasizes that the slow philosophy is not about doing everything slowly, but rather about finding a balance, making a conscious decision about the appropriate pace of one's activities.

Holiday Stress

Matt Scales — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:00:00 GMT

While doing too much during the school term can create stress, the end of the semester crunch combined with holiday demands can add significantly to the stress levels of students, staff and faculty. Teachers have the challenge of managing their own stress levels and those of their students. The following articles describe common stressors at this time of year and provide strategies for coping with many of the holiday pressures.

Get Over Stress, Not Overstressed (University of South Florida psychology professors weigh in on how students and professors should deal with end- of-the-year stress)

Teacher Stress: a critical review of recent findings and suggestions for future research directions. (while this article focuses primarily on studies of K-12 teachers in England it raises questions that may apply to teaching at the college level in the United States as well)

Learn to Cope with Holiday Stress (a look at family demands and sources of stress around the holidays)

Best of the Blog: Doing Too Much!

Matt Scales — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 10:00:00 GMT

From time to time we will republish earlier posts that were followed by a number of comments or that received feedback indicating the value of the entry. This entry was originally published on March 22, 2004. Doing too much – A New Blog Topic "I apologize for the length of this letter, but I didn't have time to make it shorter.” -- Mark Twain If you find yourself so busy that you’re tempted to skim this entry and move on, than what follows is probably intended for you. One advantage of a community of practice is that members share experiences, ideas, and reactions on an ongoing basis. Perhaps the most frequently uttered comments I’ve noticed these days from colleagues revolve around how busy, overcommitted, stretched, and even stressed many of us are. Even those individuals who ordinarily seem particularly adept at juggling multiple commitments appear to be frazzled. It’s no coincidence that one of our cluster’s themes is “teaching too much.” It’s part and parcel of “doing too much.” Ultimately one pays the price in terms of the impact on the quality of one's professional work, home life, or mental and physical health. While each of us may not be feeling this pressure equally, it’s become common enough that it no longer appears to be a unique situation. There has been some research to document a similar phenomenon in the business world as well. The age of the computer has promised us greater efficiency, but with the ease of communication and access to information, has come greater expectations of what we can accomplish. Estimates of the time necessary to teach an online course, for example, indicate that it can frequently double or triple the time necessary to teach that same course in the classroom. Taking a scholarly approach one would not be inclined to brush this issue aside, but rather do a bit of research, reflection, and if necessary take some action. It’s tempting to say we have no time for this, but in the end that’s not a helpful solution. In the coming weeks, the blog will feature some posts related to this issue. You are encouraged to add your own perspective to this process. Are you feeling the push? Have you developed strategies to avoid being overextended? Can you manage information effectively? Are you good at setting limits? Are there ways to accomplish more given your available time and energy? How do we create that valuable “space” between the multiple activities of our life? Stay tuned...

Multitasking Maladies

Matt Scales — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 10:00:00 GMT

"Multitaskers not only put stress on their brains, they can drive themselves so much that they become sick" --Virginia Anderson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution We live in an age where multitasking seems to be a necessary skill if we are to keep on top of all our responsibilities. How does the pressure of "doing too much" and the necessity of multitasking impact us physically and mentally over time? Virginia Anderson's article Too Much to Do addresses the topic from a research perspective. Included are some strategies to counteract the effects of multitasking.

Change and Information Overload

Matt Scales — Mon, 29 Mar 2004 10:30:00 GMT

Change and Information Overload: negative effects

The most important characteristic of our present society may well be the incredible speed with which it changes. Whether things evolve in a positive or in a negative way, change itself constitutes a problem. Scientific, technological, cultural and social innovation are taking place at such a breath-taking pace that no one can really keep up with them. -F. Heylighen (1999) in Principia Cybernetica Web

Principia Cybernetica is an international organization that "tries to tackle age-old philosophical questions with the help of the most recent cybernetic theories and technologies." The title link above takes you to an informative article that summarizes a number of key factors that contribute to the negative side effects of rapid change and information overload. This blog entry is the second in a series dealing with our topic of "Doing Too Much." Michael Strong offers a reaction to this article with suggestions for an educational approach to assist students in preparing to enter a rapidly changing world.