Instructor Strategies to Balance Workload

 

Being an online instructor gives you more flexibility in terms of where and when you can work, but it can also be a trap, unless you allocate your time strategically and balance your work and personal life. Organization, discipline, and flexibility are essential.

Organization provides structure and helps with pre-planning and course delivery. Blocking out specific time for course design and delivery prior to the course can help you predict how many hours you would spend on your online course. This can also give you more time to concentrate on actual teaching during course delivery. For some instructors, this can mean being able to balance workload more efficiently between co-instructors and cohort groups. In addition, pre-course organization can help you allocate time for non-course administrative, research, and service responsibilities. 

Discipline can help you adhere to your schedule and maintain a set routine during the term of their course and can be a time-saver. Blocking out specific time during the day or weekend for learner responses and sticking to it can reduce workload. To avoid letting work take over your personal life, learn to set boundaries. Setting aside time for personal obligations is an important aspect of maintaining quality of life. Using the following strategies can help you maintain a work-life balance:

• Work from home, in a family environment, to gain freedom

• Avoid working on the online course on weekends

• Maintain a separate physical location for teaching online to allow for mental separation between work and personal life.

• Avoid responding to emails on weekends. If you have the need to write your response, do so, but wait to send it during regular work hours to prevent learner expectation that you are constantly available.  

• Distinguish between work and personal life when teaching online exclusively from home

• Manage learner expectations through explicit communication about email response and assignment feedback

Flexibility is important in the area of personal matters. For a period of time you may have to rearrange your schedule to accommodate personal issues. This is okay. You must find a way to manage workload and prioritize your time to find balance and success in your personal and work life. Below is a Table of Strategies for Balancing Workload.

Table of Strategies for Balancing Workload

Design	Support	Teaching	Allocate Time
Pre-plan course	One on one	Administrative	Be Organized
Know responsibilities	Institutional	Facilitative	Be disciplined
Prioritize activities	Peer	Evaluative	Set boundaries
Anticipate needs	External	Be flexible	Reflect on/revise

          

References

Conceição, S. C. O, Lehman, R. M. (2011). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.