First of all - THANKS to everyone who has downloaded the show so far, shared it with your friends, and left a rating and review!  I'm SO grateful to you for embracing this little labor of love (and a little bit of ranting) that I've got going on.

Next Up - Get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

NOW - today's episode! 

I've worked at 9 different colleges in 7 different states - and all of the differences in the various employee benefits can just make your head swim.  It can be very overwhelming if you're not paying attention.  So in this week's episode, I'm running through some stuff to keep in mind when you are learning about your benefits - and even some things to reconsider looking into after you've been with an employer for a while.  I share a couple big lessons that I have learned when I haven't been paying attention and what it cost me.  

Do you have any topics you'd like to hear on the show?  Email me at [email protected] and let me know what's on your mind!!!

First of all - THANKS to everyone who has downloaded the show so far, shared it with your friends, and left a rating and review!  I'm SO grateful to you for embracing this little labor of love (and a little bit of ranting) that I've got going on.

Next Up - Get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

NOW - today's episode!  I recently worked on a very new project for me - something I've never dipped my toes in before.  And while the experience was great and I learned a great deal, I found myself on the potential verge of feeling burned out.  And it was really screwing with my head.  "Admitting you have a problem is the first step," LOL, so I isolated the feelings I was having and acted on them - thus, you get to learn the four things I did in order to avoid burnout and move on.  And I'm so glad that I did.  The result of this shift (or, as Hawk from Cobra Kai would say, "flipping the script") was a successful project all around and a trip for margaritas with my supervisor.  HELLS YES!!!

I referenced a previous episode in today's show, so here's the link to review that one:  When Was the Last Time You Met With Your Supervisor?

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for HEHP topics or questions?  Please feel free to email me at [email protected] and let me know what you're thinking about!!!

First of all - THANKS to everyone who has downloaded the show so far, shared it with your friends, and left a rating and review!  I'm SO grateful to you for embracing this little labor of love (and a little bit of ranting) that I've got going on.

Next Up - Get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

NOW - time for this week's episode!

I'm a BIG fan of Mel Robbins and have really gobbled up ALL of her Audible Originals.  My most recent favorite Mel thing is "Here's Exactly What To Do," and it's a podcast on Audible.  One of the episodes really struck a chord for me, and I talk about that in today's episode.

Whether or not you have kids or have had to be around kids, you might already know the concept of parenting yourself, but I think we have a responsibility to do this, even more, when we work in higher education.  So sit back and take it all in - and let me know if you want to chat more about this issue.  Shoot me an email at [email protected].  Let's connect!!!

HEY - Before digging deep into the episode, you've got to get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

This week I'm gearing up to attend my 10th CASE Conference for Community Colleges.  CASE is my professional organization:  Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.  I've been attending this conference since I started my advancement gig, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  I'm particularly excited about this year's conference because I was offered the role of Planning Committee Chairperson - AND it's the first in-person event we've had in THREE years.  

But I've been attending conferences as professional development since I was a student.  From my very first RA conference in...um...1988 to the conference I'm attending next week, I've probably been to more than 50 of these professional development events over the years.  I for sure have a do's-and-don'ts list of best practices and I'll share some of those in today's episode.

But this is not the last time we are discussing professional development on this show.  While I do love me some conferences, they are not the only way to receive professional development.  So stay tuned for that!!  It's going to be a great conversation!!!

HEY - Before digging deep into the episode, you've got to get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

This week I'm sharing a few of my favorite apps that I use to help support my happiness and good behavior with Cognitive Behavioral Theory, meditation, and health/fitness.  

We start with Insight Timer, a HUGE meditation app with courses, workshops, and an awesome "at work" module that you can dig into.  It's so totally cool and I'm a HUGE HUGE fan.  Thanks to my buddy Jamie from "Free to Be  Yourself."

My next favorite happiness-related app is VIDA, which I am blessed to have access to through my employer.  This is a health and wellness app that provides therapy, health coaching, and a plethora of other connections.  They have great courses and amazing coaches.  

Finally, we have BLOOM, an interactive video-guided CBT app to calm anxiety, reduce stress, and boost mood.  CBT is a therapeutic approach that focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions such as thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies that target solving current problems.  This app costs money after your 7-day trial but for me, it's totally worth it.

I hope you have a chance to try out any of all of these apps - and I think you'll LOVE them.  

What do you want me to cover on this show?  I really want to know!  Shoot me an email at [email protected] and tell me what we should be talking about!

First of all - THANKS to everyone who has downloaded the show so far, shared it with your friends, and left a rating and review!  I'm SO grateful to you for embracing this little labor of love (and a little bit of ranting) that I've got going on.

Next Up - Get the PERFECT companion piece for this show - Your Higher Ed Happy Place Daily Journal.  It's less than ten bucks and will help you find more happiness in this amazing calling that you've answered!

Okay, now, let's get down to it.   Through my current obsession with Gallup Strengths Finder (get the book here), and a lovely daily show called The Newsworthy, I learned about this current "phenomenon" called Quiet Quitting.  

And putting it delicately, I think this is a kinda bullshitty "new" thing, but I'm not surprised.  Employee engagement HAS been awful for years now, but it's not a completely lost cause.  This is definitely a ship we CAN steer, and I want all of you to know this...

If you identify as a "Quiet Quitter" at your place of business right now, I want to talk to you.  There's hope.  Email me at [email protected] and let's talk about how you can find that happy place again.

Meanwhile, listen to the show...I mean, REALLY listen today.  I'm not fucking around about this.

As someone who left one area of higher ed for another, mostly because my work-life balance and self-care were grossly compromised, I have come to the realization that NO ONE should have to suffer as a higher ed employee any longer.

The people who came before us set up this field to be one that attracted workaholics - even though we all know that higher ed is a calling...but it should be a calling that leads us to be overweight, unappreciated, and having no time with our family and friends.

Yes, my friends, you have arrived at the podcast that plans to ferret out the excuses and truly empower you to take your life and career back - and find your Happy Place in Higher Education.

I'm really glad you are here!

YES!  Here's episode one of the new show!!!

I promised y'all - no filters, no apologies.  I'm putting it out like it is.  And today's episode is RAW.

There are three little ways you can tune back into that happy place in your higher education gig.  I'm going to break those down for you here.  They are pretty simple, and you can TOTALLY do them - you just need to make them a priority.

The funny commercial I referenced can be found HERE.

And you can pick up the journal HERE.

Part of finding your Happy Place in Higher Education is letting yourself be open to supervision - and in that vein, you need to have regular time with your supervisor.

In the years I've been an educator, I've found that AS a supervisor I owe my team the respect to take that psychological ownership of their professional development.  Because supervisors of mine who have done that for me have been the supervisors I've respected the most.

And seriously, y'all, this has to be a priority for YOU as the employee and your boss as the employer.  I can't even begin to tell you how much that has made a difference for me over the years.  

Listen to this week's tips and then go find your boss - let that person know that you need some of her time.  You deserve it - and they owe you.  Seriously

Well, hey there!  Welcome back to Your Higher Ed Happy Place!  I hope you're getting value from these episodes - I feel like I'm learning more and more about my own happiness level and how to keep being a role model and mentor to others who struggle here.  If you're finding there's an episode that's particularly speaking to you, I'd LOVE to hear more.  Please shoot me an email:  [email protected].

Today I'm going over some tips for dealing with aspects of your job that you don't like.  We ALL have these - including, but not limited to, the TPS Reports and the notorious cover sheet.  In all seriousness, though, we have those aspects of our day-to-day work that just feel dumb, boring, or otherwise not stimulating.  But - these things are on our job description so we muddle through, right?

In today's episode, I cover a five-step process for making peace with these tasks and maybe even figure out if we can get rid of them - WOW.  

In the meantime - I have a FANTASTIC resource for you if getting happier at work.  You can pick up YOUR HIGHER ED HAPPY PLACE JOURNAL for less than ten bucks on Amazon.  It's the PERFECT companion piece to this podcast!