1. A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.
2. A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.
3. A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Bemidji State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator.
Making the impossible,
possible
Troy Gilbertson, Martin Tadlock, Michelle Frenzel, Colleen Greer, Mary Ward
October 2015
B E M I D J I S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y
5. • Mindfulness: Specifically at the beginning of the day and at the end of the
day walking on and off campus I try hard to just be for those moments and
not think about what just happened or is likely to happen. I try to pay
attention to that particular point in time.
• Email civility: I prefer direct communication over email whenever possible,
and normally begin email with “Dear name“ I find this calms the
environment most of the time, and specifically this is important during
evening/weekend hours to minimize drama.
• Email sabbatical: This is an idea that I have not figured out yet. The
concept (not mine) is to turn off email completely for some period of
time. Not an auto reply, but actually turn it off so that during some defined
period of time, people cannot contact me via email.
• Bag lunch: I brown bag my lunch almost every day. Normally this is a
healthier option than fast food.
• Walking office hours: Combine important informal means of
communication with direct reports/students/other stakeholders with some
exercise. This also sets a work/life example I think. This is still pretty new
so I’m not sure how it works yet.
W O R K / L I F E B A L A N C E F R O M A N E W B I E
13. Keeping track of
projects/ initiatives.
Meet bi-weekly with all direct reports.
Document every meeting.
Review prior meeting notes.
Spreadsheet used to track.
E-mails
Filing everything… at least almost everything!
Follow-up folder.
15. Colleen Greer
• Planning Ahead – Review week ahead Sunday evening
or Monday morning to see what’s “coming up”
• Use One-Note to keep track of projects – shared folders
with assistant to anticipate and respond to
weekly/monthly/six month initiatives
• Schedule weekly meetings with staff to update task list
and progress
• Face-to-face meetings with all chairs once every six
weeks and meet with all departments at least once a
semester
• Structure department chair meetings around key topics
in higher education as well as local informational items
