While on Spring Break, I was reminded that two of my dear teacher seller friends both “took a break” as they were experiencing teacher seller burnout. The breaks were going to be short term. But one hasn’t worked on their business over 2 years, the other one for 1 year.
Teaching full time while building a teacher seller business is more than enough work for one person. Often we have many other responsibilities besides teaching and our business:
- marriage
- family
- children’s activities
- organizations we are involved with
- health
- finances
- immediate family, parents & siblings
- faith, church
It can be all overwhelming! And that is why we are seeing teacher sellers abandoning their business or “taking a break”.
So what can you do to avoid teacher seller burnout? I do not think you can avoid it, as I said, our lives are already so packed that we really can not physically manage it all. There just isn’t enough time!
Here Are Some Suggestions To Manage The Burnout
- Establish a Schedule: It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of creating content, but it’s important to set boundaries and establish a schedule. This will help you avoid overworking and give you the time to rest and recharge. Your schedule needs to provide family time, and time for those other commitments.
- Plan Ahead: Planning your content in advance can save you time and stress. Create a content calendar that outlines the topics you want to cover, the deadlines, and the research you need to do. This will help you stay on track and avoid last-minute scrambling. As mentioned, you will not have time to do it all, at the same time. Planning ahead will help you to space out your tasks and make them more manageable without stressing you out.

- Batching: If you are diversifying your business, you will probably have tasks outside of TPT (ex: blogging, email, social media, Youtube, podcast, memberships, or selling on other teacher marketplaces) Consider taking a month worth’s of tasks and batching them. A couple focused hours can result in the completion of many activities that can then be scheduled for publication later in the month.
- Outsource when Possible: You don’t have to do everything yourself. Consider outsourcing tasks such as editing, graphics design, or social media management to help lighten your workload. This will give you more time and energy to focus on creating the content itself. This is something I’m considering right now. If you are a TPT seller, there is a FB group that is for TPT specific VA (TPT VA Finder). Personally I think teacher-seller burnout results from the attitude of trying to do it all.
- Take Breaks: It’s essential to take breaks to prevent burnout. Take a walk, meditate, or engage in a hobby that you enjoy. This will help you recharge your energy and stay motivated. Breaks can be a day or evening, a week or a couple weeks. But carefully consider any ramifications should you choose to take longer breaks.
- Stay Organized: Keeping your workspace organized and tidy can help you stay focused and avoid distractions. Create a system for organizing files, documents, and equipment so that you can easily access what you need. Many TPT sellers use Trello, Google Drive, or Airtable. I chose to keep the bulk of my stuff on an external hard-drive. Do what will work for you!
- Connect with Teacher Sellers: Join online communities or attend events where you can connect with other content creators. Networking can provide support, inspiration, and valuable insights into the industry. Some groups provide space to share raw emotions. But don’t join too many and avoid groups that complain or are negative. Too many groups will steal your time. Negative groups will steal your joy!
- Remember Your Why: It’s important to remember why you started creating content in the first place. Reconnect with your passion for your subject matter, and focus on the impact that your content can have on teachers or the audience you are creating for. Do you need a visual or vision board? Give yourself no more than 1 hour to create one.
- Finally, take time for yourself. Be present wherever you are. If you are working, then focus on working. Are you with your spouse or family, then be present with them. If you are taking a break, focus on finding joy and gratitude in the moment. Sometimes you need to do something that isn’t your side hustle.

Teacher Seller Burnout Is Normal
When burnout happens, acknowledge it for what it is. It doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human. Don’t fight it, work with it. Figure out what the trigger or triggers were. Document it and try to brainstorm you way out of it. For some, taking a day or two off will work. Others will need to re-organize their time. And some will step away. Do what is best for you. If you step away, know that you will be missed. We hope you’ll be back soon!
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