10 Effective Ways to Get Out of a Teaching Rut

We’ve all been there. You know, that feeling when you just can’t seem to get excited about teaching anymore. The material feels dry, your students are uninterested, and you’re just overall burnt out. If this sounds like you, don’t worry! I put together a list of 10 effective ways to get out of your teaching rut. Fall in love with your career again with these easy-to-implement tips.


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Do You Need to Get Out of a Teaching Rut?


If you haven’t heard it, the alarm continues to ring loud and clear. 🚨

Teachers are quitting their jobs at a frightening rate. The Washington Journal reports that in a year and a half–over 300,000 educators walked out of the classroom and never returned.

Are you feeling dissatisfied with your teaching career, but don’t know if it’s time to make the big “Q” change?

Don’t wait until you’re so fed up that quitting teaching is the only option left – recognizing and addressing these issues early on can help prevent burnout.

So, what are the warning signs? Let’s take a look.

How Do You Tell If You’re Stuck in a Teaching Rut?

  • Physically you are often sick and feel sore.
  • You feel uninspired in your classroom.
  • On Monday, you’re already looking forward to Friday.
  • Your lesson plans and activities bore you.
  • The feeling of excitement or having “butterflies” in your stomach isn’t there anymore.
  • Nothing makes you happy about your school or teaching job.
  • You yell at your students and get frustrated with them very easily.


That final warning sign cannot be ignored. Mistreating students is a definite tell-tell sign that you may be in the wrong profession.

OR–you could just need to find ways to reenergize your teaching.

There are painless steps you can take to get yourself out of this rut and back to enjoying teaching again. Let’s start feeling more inspired in the classroom!

1–Talk to Different Teachers: In-Person and Online


The first way to get out a teaching rut is to connect with positive teachers.

Preferably experienced teachers who can help you.

When you’re feeling burnt out, it can be easy to forget that there are other teachers out there who understand exactly what you’re going through. Talking to other teachers, either in person or online, can give you some great ideas for shaking things up in your classroom.

And yes, it seems nerve-racking to reach out to someone online, but it could do wonders for your motivation.

Here are some places to find other influential teachers:

  • Instagram
  • Facebook Groups for your grade-level or subject area–my favorite!
  • Teacher Conferences
  • District Meetings or School Board Meetings
  • Professional Groups for Teachers such as NEA


I met one of my teacher besties through Instagram! We communicated through direct messaging for several weeks, then exchanged phone numbers.

We’ve been sharing teaching tips, venting together, and helping each other ever since!

It’s always nice to have someone who understands what you’re going through.


2–Lean on the Efficiency of Technology

Sometimes getting out of a teaching rut means finding ways to save time.

Let’s face it: teachers are busy humans!

It’s not cheating to let technology do some of the heavy lifting for you. These examples are some of my favorite:


Technology can also be a great way to engage students and make learning more fun. If you’re not sure where to start, try using any of the recommended digital tools from this post.

But don’t just limit technology to your classroom!

Tech gadgets can also make life outside of the classroom smoother too. Which can really lift your mood when you need to get out of a teaching rut.

The ideas from this post below showcase tech items you can use in or out of the classroom.

Best-Tech-Gifts-for-teachers


3–Get Up and Move


Another great way to jump start your creativity is to get up and move!

Sometimes all you need to get out of a teaching rut is a change of scenery. If you’re used to teaching in a traditional classroom setting, try taking your students outside for a lesson or two.

Or try something as simple as going for a walk around the block during your lunch break or planning period. It doesn’t haven’t to complicated in order to be an enjoyable experience.

If you typically teach online, use an app or timer to remind yourself to get up and move at consistent intervals.

Sometimes all it takes is a little shake up of your routine to get a bolt of good energy to continue teaching with joy.

4–Switch to a Standing Desk


Small changes can lead to big results. When you need to get out of a teaching rut, consider your desk as a possible game-changer!

Maybe going for walk around the block just isn’t a good option for you.

So, try an adjustable, ergonomic standing desk to help you move more when needed.


This podium / teacher standing desk has gotten several 5-star reviews on Amazon. In fact, a teacher commented that it is “Easy assembly! Has held up well in my classroom where it is sometimes knocked around.”

What’s even better than it’s sturdiness? The fact that you can quickly lower it when you’re tired of standing! Win-win πŸ™ŒπŸΎ

5–Change Your Lesson Plans and Activities


If you’re stuck in a rut, sometimes the best thing you can do is change up your lesson plans.

When you’re teaching the same thing year after year, chances are, you are getting bored with it. This probably means you may be breaking some of the habits of highly boring teachers too!

Try freshening things up by using new


Just because you’re using new material doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheelβ€”sometimes all it takes are small tweaks here and there to make things more interesting again.

6–Declutter Your Classroom & Desk Area


Did you know that disorganization eats up an hour of your time every week?

No joke. A Boston marketing firm conducted a survey concluding that the average person spends close to 55 minutes each week trying to find misplaced items.

Could this be you too?

If so, the lack of systems and loss of time could be contributing to that feeling of being in a teaching rut.

Especially when you’re looking for something during a transition time with students. Even just a few minutes of idol time causes some classes to spiral out of control.

This post gives you the tools you need to declutter quickly and get things back on track:

tips for Teacher-Hoarders


7–Ask For More Help in Your Classroom


The 7th effective way to get out of a teaching rut is to ask for help.

This one was hard for me early in my teaching career, because I didn’t want to seem weak.

But meditation and mindset work helped me to understand that it actually takes strength and courage to ask for help.

We aren’t robots. We’re humans.

Here’s my secret trick to getting the help I need without it taking up more of my time: DITTO NOTES.

You can use these in your classroom. Click the image to see the full set.



I also call these my “Copy Checklists.” It’s so much easier for me to print them on sticky notes.

During Open House, I have several of these pre-typed notes on stickies and I ask for Room Moms and Dads to sign up to complete them.

Using these also works amazing for paraprofessionals or teacher assistants.

They cover every need I have as a teacher like:

  • Bulletin Board Prep
  • Making Copies
  • Grading Certain Kinds of Student Work
  • General To-Do’s that I edit and change throughout the weeks
  • Filing Papers
  • Typing Grades into the system, etc.

Since most of the requests I need are already typed, all I have to do is print and pass out to parents or other volunteers.

I also have them out during Parent-Teacher Conferences to recruit help.

These Ditto Notes have been a LIFE-SAVER for me! πŸŽ‰

If you’re stuck in a teaching rut because you feel like you have too much on your plate, get help in your classroom by trying a solution such as this.


8–Include Self-Care in Your Lesson Plans


Make sure that you’re taking some time for yourself!

Teaching can be an incredibly rewarding profession but it can also be very demanding both mentally and emotionally.

It’s important to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself both inside and outside of the classroom so that you don’t burn out completely.

Make sure to schedule some time for yourself every dayβ€”even if it’s just 15 minutes!β€”to do something that makes YOU happy outside of teaching.

For me, that means NOT working on my lunch break at school. I used to grade student work while I ate until my mentor teacher helped me to see that I needed to step away and take that time for myself.

She was so right!


9–Give Yourself Some Time-Off


Yes, that’s right, I said itβ€”time off!

Sometimes the best way to get out of a rut is to take a day or more from teaching altogether.

Whether it’s taking a mental health day or planning a longer vacation, giving yourself some time to recharge can make all the difference when you head back into the classroom refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes your way.

10–Teach in a Different School


Although this option isn’t as quick as the others, it could be the answer to your problems.

If you work in a toxic school where you feel a lack of support or respect, this definitely leads to being stuck in a teaching rut.

And there are plenty of other schools excited to shower their appreciation on hard-working teachers.


And not just schools. Maybe you still love education, but need to pivot out of the traditional classroom.

Explore options such as:

  • Working as an online only tutor
  • Being an intervention specialist
  • Working as a librarian
  • Becoming a curriculum developer for student learning activities

This is where talking to other teachers and networking outside your school becomes vital.

So, feel free to send in your rΓ©sumΓ© and cover letter to another school. Then walk out the door with joy!

Use More Than One of These Tips to Get Out of Your Teaching Rut


There’s no need to suffer through another day of the same old, same oldβ€”not when there are so many easy ways to get out of your teaching rut!

By trying something new, reaching out to others, or even just taking some time for yourself, you can breathe new life into your classroom and enjoy teaching again!

The Butterfly Teacher

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