Burnout

*disclaimer: these are messages from 3 different people and not sequential.

I haven't been feeling great recently and I couldn't source out the cause of my anxiety, worries and problems. 

I actually thought it was a problem on love life! But then I know that's the least of my priorities right now. Lol 

I told my friends I have been feeling empty and they said I need a boyfriend and I told them do I? But I don't want any commitments right now. I also know I don't want to depend on somebody to make me feel "complete"... I don't want to depend on somebody for my happiness... And yet my complaints seem to sound like I badly need romance. But no wonder I was confusing... 

I realized it's not love life but BURNOUT. 

I woke up today and I was feeling anxious of going to work. So I googled "work-life" balance to find an article that might soothe me and give me some tips. 

Wikipedia came first in the search list and according to Wikipedia...

Who ever wants more - on the job, from the partner, from the children, from themselves - will one day be burned out and empty inside. 

EMPTY. Those were my exact words to my friends! "I feel so productive, yet empty."

He is then faced with the realization that perfection does not exist. 

My biggest problem. I do exhibit perfectionism. 

Who is nowadays empty inside and burned out, is in the common language a Burnout. But due to the definitional problems Burnout is till this date not a recognized illness. 

Last night, I messaged one of my close guy friends and told him "I feel broken."

He was surprised. He said he just saw my posts and said "I thought you were so passionate with your work and school?" 

I said, "I am.."

On another hand, I also messaged one of my girl friends last night.. And just told her the words, "I'm tired."

So this morning I messaged them again, quoting the description that Wikipedia said about burnout.

An attempt to define this concept more closely, can be: a condition that gets only the passionate, that is certainly not a mental illness but only a grave exhaustion (but can lead to numerous sick days). 

I told them, "Now I know what's wrong, it's just burnout"

It can benefit the term that it is a disease model which is socially acceptable and also, to some extent, the individual self-esteem stabilizing. This finding in turn facilitates many undetected depressed people, the way to a qualified treatment. According to experts in the field are, in addition to the ultra hard-working and the idealists mainly the perfectionist, the loner, the grim and the thin-skinned, especially endangered of a burnout. All together they usually have a lack of a healthy distance to work.

It's probably not "JUST" burnout but a condition that people should take seriously and not pass. 

I am just relieved that I know what the cause of my anxiety is. 

At least if you know the diagnosis, you'll know the cure. 

Thank goodness it's just burnout. Because if my problems happen to be heart ache and love life ❤️.. Who knows what the real cure for that is! 😁. 

How to make work-life balance work.

It's a holiday today and for the past months since February of this year I have been working full-time in my university as compared to my life last year when I was a full-time Mooc-er. 

I am supposed to start writing my M.A. thesis today but I put it off by jumping back to my old life and checking up on my academic twitter, academic blog, academic facebook, mooc-friends, and also browsing Ted Talks. 

Ever since I started working full-time in my university you would obviously observe the frequency drop of my online activity. Oh how I miss learning random but meaningful things... Now that I have a full-time job, the only learning that happens are things that are actually related on how to perform my "job task" correctly. When I tweet to my online friend from Australia, Tanya Lau (she is also taking MA and doing her thesis) the only update I have on my thesis is telling her that... "Life got in the way..."

Now that I have full-time job... I can totally relate to this Ted Talk of Nigel Marsh about Work-Life Balance.

"I found it quite easy to balance work and life, when I didn't have work" - Nigel Marsh

Nigel Marsh:  Work Life Balance is an Ongoing Battle

"If you don't design your life, someone else will design it for you, and you may just not like their idea of balance."

The art and skill of work-life balance is difficult to master, but I have been in my job for about only 8 months... So I think I'm picking up very quick with the balance. 

On other news, my university is holding a Ted Talk convention on January 2015!!

Definitely coming... 

Notes from the Academic Writing Workshop

Anything that comes in your mind, write it... 

Start with the first thought in your mind.

Don't worry about the structure, structure will come along.

Edit.. Edit... Edit... Edit... And if you think you've done enough, edit some more. 

Assume that the audience don't know anything and tell them with logic.

Write simply.

Write directly. 

No need to use those big words.

Per paragraph is one idea. 

Write long paragraphs and write short sentences. 

A thesis is about developing an argument.

There are no "facts" but claims of facts.

Integrate ideas... - not a collection of "so and so said so and so" because it sounds like a collection of facts. 

My idea: "Motivation contributes to learning" (source of the idea)

Structure your time. Do not allow distraction.

Give some things up. Decide your priorities. 

When. Where. How. 

Choose a research area. And then write research questions. 

Read a general area and then decide a specific thing to do. 

Is it doable?

Is it useful?

Cheers to Professional Growth!

Just a week ago I panicked due to the information of a friend that as academic service faculties we were required to join professional organizations.

This, put me into a shock because I was not a member of one. 

The organizations I always put in my resume are my student organizations.

Although it is not against my heart and will that I am "required" to join professional organizations. 

I actually have always wanted to join one but I'm just not exposed to these kind of things so opportunities and reasons were hard to find. The interest was there... But life got in the way.

So thanks for the mandatory requirement of my University.... Hehe... I went efforts to look for organizations. I asked my professor how to join this professional organization and he discouraged me to join that org and recruited my in the organization he was currently in.

Long story short...

I paid my membership fee yesterday.

And today...

I got appointed to be a semi-board member😂.

I'm so excited!!!!!!!

Just when I thought I have too many things in my plate... I accepted a task without question. I've been complaining recently how I lack in the socialization department. But I guess I really don't lack psychological needs.. But rather I want a variety of things happening in my life. 

It is an honor to be chosen! 

Grad school... Work... Professional Organization...

I guess my romantic life has to wait. lol I'll worry about that after grad school! 

Thesis first... I'm almost there.

I'm now the assistant to the secretariat of the Philippine Educational Measurement & Evaluation Assessment. 

😂😂😂 excited for my first board meeting.

😂😂 excited to expand my network of both friends and professionals.

Cheers to more good things happening in my life.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

This is what best describes me. I should put this in my resume.

It's not actually derogatory for me because nowadays it's actually a 21st century skill. 

To be flexible and to know how to adapt and to be versatile.

I found out last week I need to join a professional organization as part of my work. 

I've always wanted to join conferences and seminars.

Luckily, I have connections now since one of my close professors just recently became the president of a professional org. And now, I'm more than excited to join seminars and conferences :)

But either way even if I'm not going to be with him I have decided that I'm now in a pursuit to expand my network.

I've been lacking in the socialization department lately and it's driving me crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! 

Having a complete desk job really doesn't suite me well I have to find the time to improve my professional growth aside from doing those routinely done desk job tasks. Although bonding with my scholars is very enjoyable. 

I can't wait to attend my first conference and get to see my professor again.

My Pride :)

I admit.

Working full-time did end up eating my time of doing online classes, catching up on education news and even doing my thesis.

But whenever I see the picture below, it symbolizes the beneficiaries of my efforts for the past months.

So proud of them. :)

#AnimoLasalle

Thesis Concept Paper (Part 2)

And so..

Four (4) months after...

I still don't have an approved concept paper -__-

But there is still light at the end of the thesis.

Tomorrow I will submit my 4th concept paper and I am confident on this one!

I also realized I should be changing my gmail emails now to a non-dlsu account because our dlsu.ph e-mail will be deleted soon and I will be in deep trouble because I think I used my blog and twitter with dlsu.ph

Sigh.. where did the time go?

=(

I miss my academic virtual life... BUT I'M BACK and I'm seriously back.

Won't let life get in the way again.. balance is the key.

On a side note... I am sadly not working on MOOC research as my thesis now. Lol the irony... about 11 months ago I got the light bulb idea on using Mooc as my thesis... My new thesis will be working on students benefiting from student financial aid... since.. well.. that is my calling right now due to the nature of my work as a scholarships coordinator.

But I will do research on moocs one day... after my M.A. :)

So yeah, I will still keep my twitter account and blog account.

Besides, I've made so many great academic virtual international friends on here.

One step at a time... the light at the end of the Thesis.