That sinking feeling
There isn’t much about my job that I don’t like. There may
be a little too much admin but even that is manageable if you just get on and
do it and if you allow it its rightful position; it’s important and needs to be
done effectively but is not as important as some other aspects of the job.
No, what I really dread is opening my inbox – especially
after an absence or even on a Monday when they’ve continued to flow in over the
weekend even though I don’t look at them. My refusal to look at them after
about 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday and at the weekend comes from my attempt to
manage all the other work that is part of my role. I do work in the evening and
at the weekend quite frequently, just not on email.
Frequently in my inbox are:
- Complaints
- Problems I can’t solve
quickly
- Students wishing to make
appointments
- Questions that I can
answer
- Questions that I can’t
answer and I don’t know who can.
- More work
- News - some interesting
and useful, some less so.
- Very occasionally, a nice
one, saying thank you or bringing some really good news
Every day I spend a couple of hours sorting them all out.
I’m nervous, with physical symptoms to prove that, every time I open my inbox
and I want that to stop happening.
I am beginning to devise some strategies.
