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How to Lighten the Load (Without Quitting)

Hey Teacher Friend,


If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re feeling stretched thin. Maybe your to-do list is longer than your lunch break. Maybe you’ve said “I’ll get caught up this weekend” one too many weekends in a row. Or maybe you just feel… tired.


I see you. I’ve been there. And I want to remind you of something really important: you are not the problem.


Teaching is a beautiful, exhausting, world-changing profession—but it can also drain every ounce of energy if we don’t step back and protect what’s in our circle of control.


So let’s take a breath together and look at a few simple, professional, totally-permission-granted things you can do right now to ease the burnout and rediscover your balance.


Look at your daily and weekly routines and ask, “What’s absolutely essential?”If a task doesn’t directly impact student learning or classroom safety, it can wait. You don’t need to have the cutest bulletin board, the perfect newsletter, or color-coded data charts this week.


Try this:

  • Circle three things on your to-do list that must happen.

  • Cross out or postpone the rest. Give yourself permission to do fewer things well instead of doing everything halfway.


Your prep period is not a bonus block—it’s yours. Guard it kindly but firmly. Close your door if needed. Put up a “Planning in Progress” sign. Use that time to actually plan, grade, or simply sit quietly for five minutes with a cup of coffee.


Try this: Schedule one prep period each week where you don’t answer emails. You’ll be amazed how much mental space that small act creates.


Burnout loves perfectionists. It whispers, “Just one more thing. ”Decide what “enough” looks like for you this week. Enough papers graded. Enough emails replied to. Enough time spent at school. Then stop when you reach it—without guilt.


Try this:


Choose one boundary (for example, “I leave by 4:30 on Fridays”). Write it down and honor it like a meeting with your principal.


You don’t have to wait for a policy change or a new program to feel better. Ask a teammate to swap a duty, share copies, or co-plan a lesson. Those small acts of community matter more than we realize.


Try this:


Find one trusted colleague and check in weekly—just a five-minute “How are you really?” chat. Teaching is lighter when we carry it together.


Good teaching isn’t about doing everything. It’s about showing up with purpose and heart. When you model self-care, boundaries, and balance, your students learn that adults can live healthy, whole lives too.


Try this:


End your day by naming one moment that mattered—a laugh, a breakthrough, a smile. Let that be what defines your day, not the unfinished list.


You can’t control everything about teaching—but you can control how you respond. You can choose simplicity, boundaries, and community over exhaustion and guilt.


It’s okay to care deeply about your students and care deeply for yourself. You are allowed to be human. You are allowed to rest.


And you are absolutely allowed to still love teaching without losing your mind.





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