Avoid Homeschool Burnout with These 11 Practical Strategies

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Struggling with homeschool burnout? I’m sharing my favorite tips to help you overcome this, and a 30-Day Self-Care Challenge you can grab at the end of this post.

Are you ending your day completely wiped out and dreading the next homeschool day? 

You might be facing homeschool burnout and struggling with self-care as a homeschool mom. 

I know I have been there. And getting you back to feeling happy, rested, and excited to homeschool could be a simple fix. 

Do you want in on the secret?  The prevention for homeschool burnout is taking the time to practice self-care.  

5 Myths of Self-Care 

There are many myths floating around self-care so let’s take a couple minutes to bust them before digging into some ways you can start practicing self-care today. 

Myth #1: Self-Care is Just Pampering 

I know when someone says self-care the first thing in your mind is probably some form of pampering. But taking a long bubble bath, getting a Mani/Pedi, and a luxurious spa day are not the only ways you can practice self-care.  

Self-care can simply be making sure that your needs are met day to day. Self-care can look different for different people. 

Myth #2: Self-Care is Selfish

This is a big one. Self-care isn’t selfish. Self-care is simply doing things that help you to be the best homeschool mom possible.  You are not being selfish by taking time for yourself. 

Myth #3: Self-Care is Time Consuming

You do not spend a whole day doing self-care.

You need to be practicing self-care in small increments, instead of a vicious cycle of burnout, a day or weekend of deep self-care until you run into burnout again.  

Myth #4: Self-Care is a Temporary Solution

When self-care is practiced regularly it can be the cornerstone of good mental health and good emotional health. It is not a band aid to cover up bigger problems. It can give you the mental bandwidth to deal with bigger problems. This is a great article on how self-care can help mental health. 

Myth #5: Self-Care is Overindulging  

Don’t get self-care twisted with overindulging. Not everything that makes you feel good is self-care. Some obvious examples are drinking too much alcohol, endless social media scrolling, or binging on your chocolate stash.  Self-care is anything that makes you feel good because it’s good for you.  

11 Everyday Self-Care Habits for Homeschool Moms 

Homeschool moms tend to be the first person up and the last in bed at night, just doing one more thing. We tell ourselves, “I just have to make it to next week and things will be less stressful.” 

But then next week comes and we repeat it. And repeat it and repeat it. 

There is never going to be enough time to get self-care in. Because we are waiting for the right time to put it in.

Well, friend…the right time for self-care is today.  And practicing these tips for yourself also goes a long way in teaching kids about self care as well. Let them see you take care of yourself!

Habit #1: Getting Enough Rest

I didn’t come to pull any punches with you. Getting enough rest is essential self-care. Rest is not only sleeping. Rest is also downtime. 

Tell me the truth – what does your schedule look like?  Is it packed with activities, lessons, cleaning, meal prep, and child care tasks from the moment you open your eyes until your body just collapses?  That has to stop. 

Make an effort to get enough sleep every day. But also to schedule some downtime for yourself at least a few times a week to start. 

Habit #2: Eating Foods that Make you Feel Good Regularly

Now when I say eat foods that make you feel good, I don’t mean eat chocolate every day. I mean eating healthy foods that help support you as you conquer your day. 

Eating healthy, balanced meals that make you feel energized and not sluggish. You may want to keep a quick food diary if you are struggling to know what foods make you feel energized. 

Track your food for a few weeks, along with tracking your daily energy level and mood. See if you can spot what makes you feel like the SuperMom that you are. 

Habit #3: Moving your Body in a Fun Way 

Exercise is another one of those must-haves when it comes to self-care. 

Here is the sneaky truth about exercise: it doesn’t have to be kickboxing, yoga, and lifting weights. It can be moving your body in a way that’s fun.

Maybe that is afternoon dance parties with your kids. Maybe it’s going on nature walks. And maybe it’s lifting weights.  

Choose something you enjoy doing that also moves your body – and do that.  

Habit #4: Taking Time for Self-Reflection

I touched on this a bit by tracking your food, moods, and energy. But taking some time for a little self-reflection is a great self-care practice. It can be as simple as thinking about a few things that have been going well lately and a thing or two you might change. 

You can do this with a mood tracker, journaling, chatting with an accountability partner, or just a mental exercise as you brush your teeth at night.  

The key that makes this work is to find 2-3 things that you are doing well, and less things you want to change. 

No blaming, no bashing, just some self-reflection. 

Habit #5: Having Alone Time 

For many moms, we never seem to have a minute alone. Even trying to use the restroom, our kids are on the other side of the door asking questions. 

It can be overwhelming.  

Setting either a quiet time during your homeschool day, getting up a little bit earlier than your kids, or asking your spouse to take over an evening responsibility can give you 10-15 minutes of alone time to recharge.  

Habit #6: Saying Some Affirmations and Practicing Visualization

Women tend to tell everyone in their life what an amazing job they are doing, but for some reason, we never tell ourselves the same thing. 

Affirmations are a great way to remind yourself that you are an amazing, talented, hardworking, and caring woman. You are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.

If you were your friend, what would you tell you about yourself? 

In this same mindfulness arena, practicing visualization can help you to reach your goals. With visualization, you are picturing yourself and your life once you have reached your goals. This should fill you full of warm, happy feelings.  

You can do both of these in the morning as you brush your teeth, do your makeup, and get ready for your day. 

Habit #7: Reading or Listening to Something Inspirational 

Taking some time to read something inspirational or listen to something inspirational can be an instant boost to your day.

This may not be something you do every day but it is great for days that you are really feeling down. 

You get to decide what inspirational things you want. It could be reading scripture, listening to your favorite songs, listening to a podcast, or reading an inspirational book. 

Habit #8: Doing Something Just for Fun

You know that phrase all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl? Well it’s true. And it’s especially true if you keep saying, “When I get through this week it will be different, I can relax.” 

You have to make time for fun. Whether it’s 10 minutes of playing your favorite game on your phone, chatting with a friend, doing a craft, or reading a fiction book just for you, you need to find something that you enjoy that you can plan on doing a few times a week. 

Habit #9: Connecting with a Friend

Being a homeschool mom means most of your time is probably spent with your kids. This is a great and amazing experience, except it can mean you go days or even weeks without really talking to another adult that has similar interests that aren’t homeschooling. 

If you can’t remember the last time you had an adult conversation that didn’t revolve around curriculum then it has been too long.  Schedule either a playdate or a girl’s evening where you can just talk and hangout with a friend. 

Habit #10: Pamper Yourself 

Yep you get to pamper yourself. If that is something that makes you feel cared for, then go for the mani/pedi, spend a few more minutes in the morning doing your makeup, or buy yourself something that makes you feel amazing when you wear it. 

And the key to this is not to feel guilty about pampering yourself. I think homeschool moms especially find themselves feeling guilty about doing the pampering things for themselves. 

But your self-care is important and if that means pampering yourself, find a ways to sneak it in every day. 

Habit #11: Start Saying No 

This might be the biggest point of the whole list. I wanted to leave you with this thought. How many times are you saying yes that you should be saying no?  

People who don’t homeschool like to think that we are just free during the day to help them out, they don’t understand what it means to homeschool.  

Stop saying yes. Start saying “Let me check my calendar,” or “I’ll get back to you,” and simply “No.”  

Even if it is something you want to do, I want you to give yourself some space before saying yes to anything new.  You can do that by saying “Let me check with my husband,” or “I need to check my calendar before I commit.”   

Guard your yes, and if it isn’t an enthusiastic yes, then it’s a no.  Trust me this is probably the most difficult self-care task on this list. It is hard to say no, especially if you are people pleaser. 

But being completely overextended is the fast track to homeschool burnout. 

The Takeaway

Self-care is not selfish and it is the secret to avoiding homeschool burnout.  You need to make sure that you care for yourself so that you can continue to care for those around you. 

I gave you 11 everyday self-care tasks for homeschool moms that include basic things like getting enough rest, eating well, getting exercise and deeper things like mindfulness exercises, taking some alone time, and being careful on what you say yes to.

If you’re up for a challenge, you can also grab my 30-Day Self-Care Challenge FREE printable below.

For the next 30 days, you’ll do one super simple task each day to start moving in the right direction, fill your own bucket, and feel a bit more refreshed and renewed.

Sign up below and immediately download and print off your challenge!

When you neglect these self-care habits then it is just a matter of time before you are completely burnt out.  

Homeschooling is hard and rewarding but you also need to take time to take care of yourself to be the best homeschool mom you can be.

How do you practice self-care as a homeschool mom? Give us your tips in the comments below!

Related Posts

• 7 Easy Ways to Maximize Your Homeschool Day
• Do These Things For a More Successful Homeschool
• Keeping Your Homeschooling Joy (Even When It’s Hard)

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