10 Ways Tutoring Can Help You Overcome Teacher Burnout
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used!
Long hours…
Growing list of responsibilities…
Increasing behaviors…
Lack of support…
Many teachers I talk with genuinely feel like they have no clue why they’re still teaching.
Teacher burnout manifests itself in many different ways, but the emotional toll of the job leaves many dedicated teachers feeling depleted, overwhelmed, and unsure of what to do next.
So how do you overcome teacher burnout?
Some choose to leave the profession, but others stay hoping to find something that will reignite their passion for teaching. Teacher friend, there IS an answer… Tutoring!
The Challenge of Overcoming Teacher Burnout
Teacher burnout isn’t just struggling through with an extreme case of “teacher tired”.
It’s an overwhelming feeling of frustration, stress, and exhaustion that leads many educators down the path of questioning their career choices.
I know because it happened to me.
Sitting in my car before school, tears streaming down my cheeks, waiting as long as I could before I absolutely had to start heading into school to start my day…
This was my reality.
A toxic work environment, mounting stress, and a lack of work-life balance brought me to my breaking point.
And the thing about teacher burnout is that it doesn’t just impact our professional lives. It’s impacts can be seen and felt in our happiness, health, and personal relationships.
But even though I was struggling with teacher burnout, I—like many other teachers who find themselves in a similar situation—didn’t want to give up on teaching. It was in my blood, and I knew it was where I was meant to be.
Starting a tutoring business literally saved me from the depths of teacher burnout. My tutoring business helped me reclaim my purpose, passion, and sense of control, which led me down a path of burnout recovery.
How Tutoring Helps Teachers Overcome Burnout
Maybe you love your students but are overwhelmed by toxic coworkers on your team.
Perhaps you love your school but are stressed from dealing with student behaviors with a lack of support.
Or it could be that you love your profession, but are frustrated with not earning enough to support your family.
Many teachers struggling with burnout feel stuck because they feel like the only option to overcome their burnout is to leave the profession. And yes, that may be the right next step for some teachers, but it might not be for all teachers.
Tutoring literally saved my teaching career.
Starting your own tutoring business opens the door to rediscovering the joy of teaching, while also creating a flexible and profitable side hustle (and the best part - you’re using skills you already have!).
Here are 10 ways that starting your own tutoring business can help you overcome your struggles with teacher burnout.
#1. Reconnect with Students on a Personal Level
Working closely with each student isn’t something we get to do a lot in the classroom.
Juggling 25 or more students with a wide variety of needs and personalities - along with some pretty overwhelming behavior issues - can feel near impossible.
Yes, it is possible to set up your classroom to have small group instruction (and if this is a dream you have for your classroom, CLICK HERE to find out how I can help you with that) but there’s still nothing like being able to work one-on-one with a student.
#2. Teach What You Love
One of the great things about tutoring is that YOU can decide your focus.
Whether you love teaching reading, math, or any other subject you’re passionate about, tutoring allows you to teach what lights you up, which goes a long way when overcoming teacher burnout. Imagine sharing your valuable expertise in a subject that you love with students who are also eager to learn… It’s the ultimate upgrade!
#3. Build Positive Relationships with Grateful Parents
Experiencing the gratitude of a parent who is witnessing their child succeed is a powerful reminder of why you started teaching in the first place. When parents see - firsthand - the progress their child is making, their gratitude has the power to shift your perspective because you feel truly valued.
Now, multiply that by the number of tutoring clients you have, and you’ll be floating on cloud 9 all week, which is starkly different from cringing every time you see an email from that parent (IYKYK).
#4. Gain Control Over Your Schedule
Flexibility with your schedule is an amazing perk of tutoring.
Unlike the rigid structure of a classroom schedule, tutoring offers flexibility because you can set your schedule. Heck, you can even tutor from the comfort of your own home - either through Zoom or having clients come to your house - if you’d like!
This newfound control over your schedule can make a huge difference in how you feel about your day and goes a long way in helping you to overcome your teacher burnout.
#5. Create Extra Income without Extra Stress
Tutoring is the perfect way to leverage skills you already have to earn extra income.
And the best part - since tutoring sessions are only around 30 minutes - they easily fit into your schedule, whereas getting another job would not. These sessions can be scheduled flexibly. Maybe you choose to stagger sessions throughout the week, or maybe you choose to line them all up on a Saturday.
Whether you are working to pay off debt, saving for a vacation you’ve been dreaming of, or just covering the cost of your kids’ extracurriculars, tutoring provides you not only financial freedom but also peace of mind.
#6. Rediscover the Joy of Teaching
As a teacher, sometimes it can be hard to find joy in the work that you do.
The paperwork, policies, and lack of time can dull the feelings of inspiration and joy felt when you step foot into your very first classroom. With everything that’s piled on teacher’s plates, it can be hard to see the impact you are having.
But with tutoring, you’re able to focus on individual students and you are able to see their growth and progress over time which can ignite that feeling of inspiration. With tutoring, you can step away from common classroom pressures and be reminded of the positive impact you can have on a child’s life.
#7. Improve your Skills and Confidence
I think I’ve said this before, but one of the best things about tutoring is that you can earn some extra cash WITHOUT having to learn something new (which is a win-win!).
Not only that, but you can choose your tutoring niche. So if you love teaching reading, tutor students on reading. If teaching math is your jam, just stick with math!
So, why does this matter? Since you aren’t learning something new, you can focus on improving the skills that you already have because you are applying them in a new way. This will build confidence which you are sure to see carry over into your classroom!
#8. Have a Better Work-Life Balance
Let’s be real…having a side hustle can be stressful. I mean, finding the time to go to another job after you’ve been in the classroom all day…no thank you.
But with tutoring, you can have the best of both worlds.
Since you can set your hours and determine your caseload based on your income goals, you can still enjoy and focus on your personal life (curious on how many students you need to tutor to reach your income goals - CLICK HERE to check out my tutoring income calculator). By having time to live a fulfilled life outside of school, you’ll feel more energized and less stressed, two key elements in overcoming teacher burnout.
#9. Enjoy a Sense of Accomplishment
One of the most frustrating things about being a teacher is that we usually don’t get to see the fruits of our labor.
Whether it be the number of students in our classes or the need to stay on pace with our curriculum, we sometimes miss out on seeing our students grow and apply all the skills we worked so hard at teaching them.
Tutoring, on the other hand, provides immediate, tangible results. Just this satisfaction of watching a student’s understanding grow right before your eyes can be enough to light that fire for teaching you once had.
#10. Foster a Love of Learning in Students
Sometimes teaching can feel like just “checking boxes” and the pace of some curriculums can leave many students in the dust.
There are so many times I wish I could have gone deeper into concepts with my students, but I needed to carry on for the sake of staying on track.
But with my tutoring clients, I found I can go deeper into concepts my clients are interested in, leaning into the joy of learning. And their joy will rub off on you, helping to reduce the feelings of burnout.
Take Action! Overcome Your Teacher Burnout
Teacher friend, I can tell that you are fired up to finally break free from burnout!
I know are excited that starting your own tutoring business might be just the solution you were looking for! The flexibility in my schedule, the close connection to students and families, and no longer feeling stressed about money played an important role in my overcoming my teacher burnout.
And, to help you get started - I want to share my course Tutorpreneur Academy®.
In this self-paced course, I walk you through the entire process of starting your tutoring business right and also share with you all my templates and go-to strategies that I used to create a 6 figure tutoring business all while working full time.
Are you ready to get started?
Build Your Tutoring Side Hustle Without Overloading Your Schedule
Starting your tutoring business is exciting.
You get to choose a catchy name and set up well-laid-out social media accounts to show off what you have to offer. But then you’re left wondering
How many students do I need to tutor?
How much do I charge for my services?
Not being able to answer those two questions has left many teachers feeling stuck before they even get started. Which is why I created the Tutoring Income Calculator. This handy tool will help you set your tutoring rate and determine the number of students you need to work with to reach your income goals.
