Excitement or Stress?

It's the time of year when most of us in service organizations in higher education are moving at a very fast pace.  Our freshmen arrive on campus next Wednesday, and classes begin the following Tuesday.  We are putting the finishing touches on all of those projects that we want to have done before classes begin.

We in IT work hard all year long, and summer is no exception.  We try to use summer to focus on large projects that could impact services, but increasingly we find that there is no down time to our year, and there are fewer times that have minimal customer impact.  So finding time to make major changes is a challenge.

Despite all this, it is exciting to think about students returning to campus.  Much as I hate to see summer come to an end, students are the reason we are all here, and we look forward to seeing our students share the technology we provide.  We also look forward to having our valued student employees return to campus.  Some student employees work for us through the summer, but many return home to work or complete an internship.  We know we cannot deliver the quality of service we do without their contributions, so we welcome them back with open arms.

I welcome the excitement that comes this time of year, but I have to be careful to manage my stress and watch over our staff.  Excitement can switch to stressed-out in the blink of any eye.  Stress often pops up when that project you were just about to finish runs into a roadblock.  At those times, I try to step back, take a deep breath, and then start making contingency plans.  When you are in the heat of the moment, it may seem like a huge deal when something goes wrong, but it is rare when you can't recover, find a new way, or ask for help.  Occasionally the best solution is to slow down a little, extend your time line, and make sure you are getting it right.  Other times, you need to shut your door, put your head down, and push through.

So whether you are excited or whether you are stressed, remember to take care of yourself this time of year.  Get some exercise.  Take a break.  Sound off to a friend or colleague.  Taking care of yourself enables you to enjoy the excitement and minimize the stress.  Happy start of school to all!