What to do when you feel "burned out"

[brijen97]

We have not had a stellar week around here. My daughter acted up a lot and I was just feeling tired and overwhelmed. I am trying my best to plug along because we only have a couple more weeks of intensive work. I am sure this is not just do to homeschooling...we also run an in home day care and have demands from 4H and church which I do my best to keep at a minimum. I was just wondering what other people do when you start to feel this way but are really not at a point where a "break" from schoolwork is the best idea. Thanks!!

[usetoschool]

Find someone to talk to or socialize with. I usually call my sister and she listens patiently while I complain. Get more sleep. Try to do something fun that is away from home, outdoors and out of the ordinary. Find something, anything to laugh long and hard about - jokes, a movie, something silly online. Focus on a special project or subject in school work - something different or in depth that we have been wanting to cover. I really can't justify too much taking time off when things aren't going smoothly either.

 

Anything to shake up the routine and get me out of my funk.

[LibraryLover]

Dh and I believe that building respectful, supportive family relationships (not best buddies) is the most important aspect of our lives currently. We have never had any problems with saying 'Gosh, this didn't work so well. We need to sit back and chill." We've said anything frim ' Maybe we need to laugh more. Maybe we need a good field trip to an interesting place. Maybe we just need to find an awesome book to read together"

 

When things are harder, it tells us we need to reconnect with each other and our children! It is that simple.

 

It's important to understand what our goals are as a family.

 

The leanring wiill happen when our chidlren trust us, and our relationship is strong and loving ---and not adversarial.

 

Maybe you work out in the garden with a six year old. Maybe you watch a dinosuar movie. Maybe you bake bread. Maybe you take a walk and have a picnic with friends and remember what is childhood needs to be, and what family is all about.

 

There is far too much to learn, and enjoy. Spending time trying to control our kids or fighting over spelling words, gets us to no place we want to be. When we are a team, all that other stuff comes far more easily.

Edited May 1, 2010 by LibraryLover

[elizabeth]

Use the overabundant squirrels here for target practice and drink heavily while cursing at my neighbor that listens to Limbaugh outside at twenty decibels. Just kidding but actually think this sounds like a he** of a good game plan for the weekend. I am done . Toast. Finito. Next week we read A Canticle for Leibowitz and Rawls' A Theory of Justice and it is break time . Thank goodness for Elavil.

[LibraryLover]

Use the overabundant squirrels here for target practice and drink heavily while cursing at my neighbor that listens to Limbaugh outside at twenty decibels. Just kidding but actually think this sounds like a he** of a good game plan for the weekend. I am done . Toast. Finito.

 

.

 

 

I could totally get beihnd that. :D It would keep me from pushing my agenda on a 6 year old. :D

 

There is such a thing as doing too much, and to the detriment of our children.

[texasmama]

When I hit a wall, I ask dh to take the kids away from the house on the weekend for a stretch of several hours. Since I am home most of the time and it is very loud and active and busy, it is so helpful to have alone time at home to recharge. I did this last weekend and plan to do it some more this coming weekend. I will keep doing it until I stop thinking of taking up drinking to cope.:tongue_smilie:

[jenL]

After an absolutely abmismal beginning to our week, I took Thursday and Friday off, and we went outside, played together, cuddled, and spent more time just being. We'll start back again on Monday, but I feel better, and I believe ds does too. I'm learning that it is okay to stop, regroup, and then begin again.

[StartingOver]

When we are headed for burn out, I explain that we are taking a break for X amount of days. That they best make the best of it, because we will get back to work after. Then we spend that time playing, at the beach, museum, aquarium, zoo, art classes, anything and everything. One thing we never stop is reading, they must still read in the evenings.

[Peela]

Sometimes I take a day to catch up on housework and get the kids to pitch in, and give their rooms a good clean, catch up on washing etc. It helps me when I am feelign overwhelmed.

 

Otherwise, I drop back to the basics in the morning, drop our together work, and go and have an afternoon nap.

[jld]

Elizabeth, enjoy A Canticle for Leibowitz! What a great book!

 

I think a great cure for burnout is a long vacation, possibly followed by a period of unschooling!:)

[Ester Maria]

Nothing cures that state better than a travel. ;) It may be a one-day change of your surrounding somewhere near (we're not really the nature type of people, so we prefer to go to some more urban area), it may be a week abroad, but whatever you pick, it's usually a great success.

 

A change is just as relaxing as a break from things.

[LibraryLover]

Absolutely! I cringe when people see a family outing or a field trip as 'fluff'. We can't do a week abroad at this point, but we can visit wonderful science museums and aquariums, tucked -away ctiy book shops, art museums, old cemetaries etc. I love when my dd's bring their stetch pads to art museums. fi. We are nature type people as well, however, and recently my youngest, my dh, and I spent two hours on a FL canal floating silently in kayaks watching a manatee. That was an amazing (and bonding) activity. My dh just left for a walk on the beach, and one of the children went along. I dare say that is as important as a sit down science lesson. Who knows what they might discuss (or not). My oldest is planning a painting workshop on a Maine harbor soon, and we are going along for the ride and fun of it.

 

One might switch activities instead of trying to plod along with something that isnt working at the moment. Do something else. Playing chess, making a meal, transplanting seedlings into the garden etc., together are activites that contribute to a family's emotional stability, as well as our chidlren's educational growth.

 

A change is something a bit different from a break, isn't it? Breaks are nice, but change /redirection can spark energy and bring about renewed /new determination.

 

Nothing cures that state better than a travel. ;) It may be a one-day change of your surrounding somewhere near (we're not really the nature type of people, so we prefer to go to some more urban area), it may be a week abroad, but whatever you pick, it's usually a great success.

 

A change is just as relaxing as a break from things.