Last week on our RaisingRices Instagram page I talked about ways to avoid homeschool burn out. This is such a needed conversation because BURN OUT happens! Especially starting in February, so if you have felt burn out, trust me you are not alone. So, what can we do? Well continue reading for some valuable ways to combat or avoid homeschool burn out. Also make sure you are following our INSTAGRAM page where I work hard to show practical ways to utilize the gift of homeschooling, how to roadschool, and finding the joy in the homeschooling moments.
How to avoid or prevent homeschool burn out. Some of these tips and tricks will be no brainers while others we must remind ourselves of the importance of these simple steps to support our homeschooling journey. YUP, I said it: journey! Homeschool is an amazing blessing and gift but it NOT a straight sprint to the end, yet rather a long distance run with hills that go up and down. There will be highs and lows, bumps and bruises but also life long treasured moments.
Remember Your WHY! Don’t forget WHY you chose to homeschool in the first place! If you have never done this simple exercise I would encourage you to write down the reasons WHY you chose to homeschool and put it where you can read it and be reminded. During our hard and frustrating moments if we lose focus on WHY we are doing the thing we are doing then the activity looses is priority, purpose and protentional. You start to make excuses or find alternatives to the choses we have made. Don’t forget your WHY!
SCALE BACK. Remember one of the joys of homeschooling is to be able to switch it up and scale back. Some of us get so bogged down with the to-do list that we can lose the joy. Other times we just need a spark to keep us going, so remember as a homeschooling family you can go on a walk, change pace with a until study, do a reading challenge for the week, go on a field trip, etc. Never lose the joy of learning, it should be like lighting a fire not filling a bucket. We can fall trap to saying schooling has to look like the public or private schools but truly homeschooling and learning can happen anywhere, anytime and anyhow. Be encouraged to scale back and switch it up.
STAY IN COMMUNITY! Don’t run this race along, join arms with others who will encourage you during moments of burn out. The blessing of encouragement from your homeschool community can be so reassuring during a season of burn out. Truly they KNOW what you are going through and have the right mindset on ways to rally and combat burn out. These community members will not only have amazing encouragement but also could have inspiration and ideas for ways to find the joy of homeschooling again. Lean into their wisdom and friendship.
EVALUATE DISTRACTIONS. Sometimes the distractions of life is what can lead to burnout. Are you falling into the comparison trap on social media, or are you focused on the wrong things? Make sure you take the time to evaluate those distractions and your heart. I know I can speak from experience that I will look on with longing at others people lives or what they are doing on social media and think to myself: I am failing, or I want what they have. During those times I need a wake up call to remind myself that social media is not reality, it doesn’t show the whole picture. Then I need to evaluate am I being encouraged by spending my time on social media or am I becoming discouraged and burnt out. If I am not being encouraged then I need to set up some time limits and remove what is distracting me.
FEED YOUR SOUL! This is truly the number one way to avoid burn out, I am putting it at the end so it will be first on your mind as we wrap up. Focus on Christ, find things that encourage and feed your soul. This is the most affected way to avoid burnout. When we turn to Christ, focus on the eternal, we get all the motivation we need. It gives us tunnel vision, inspiration and motivation. How can you feed your soul better? Is it spending more time in the word, playing worship music throughout the day, putting up God’s word throughout the house so you can meditate on truth, there are so many other ways too but what is most important is: TURN TO CHRIST.
I hope this was encouraging to you. Remember you are not alone! Turn to Christ.