October has a reputation.
Pumpkin spice everything. Cozy sweaters. Fall festivals and Halloween costume parades.
But if you’re a teacher, you know October has another reputation too.
The excitement of the first day has worn off. The routines you worked so hard to build in August are being tested. Progress reports are due, parent-teacher conferences are on the calendar, and the next real break feels so far away.
If you’re feeling it, hear me clearly: you are not alone, and you are not failing. You’re in the October slump. And there’s a way through it.
The October Slump Has a Name
Researcher Ellen Moir, founder of the New Teacher Center, mapped out the emotional phases teachers move through in a school year: anticipation, survival, disillusionment, rejuvenation, and reflection.
That disillusionment phase? It tends to show up right around October and can stretch toward the winter holidays.
Moir’s work focused on first-year teachers, but if you ask me (and the educators I talk to every week), veteran teachers feel this dip too. It just looks a little different when you’ve been doing this for 5, 10, or 20 years.
It can sound like:
- “Why am I already this tired? It’s only October.”
- “I’m working harder than ever and still feel behind.”
- “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this anymore.”
I remember those feelings. When I was a classroom teacher, Sundays were often the most stressful day of my week. I’d spend the whole day asking myself: Are my lesson plans done? Do I have all the supplies I need? Will the student who’s struggling finally get it this week? (I wrote more about that in Skip the Sunday Scaries, Teachers.)
Those Sunday questions got louder in the fall. And for years, I thought the answer was to just push harder.
It wasn’t.
Name It, Tame It, Sustain It: Your October Game Plan
When I speak to teachers and school leaders about burnout, I come back to three simple steps. Here’s what they look like for October.
1) Name It
You can’t fix what you won’t admit.
Take a minute and be honest with yourself. Are you sleeping? Are you eating real meals, or grabbing whatever is left in the teacher’s lounge? When was the last time you did something just because it was fun?
Naming it isn’t complaining. It’s information. And here’s the good news about the disillusionment phase: it’s a phase. It is a season, not a verdict on whether you’re a good teacher.
2) Tame It
Once you’ve named it, it’s time to lighten the load. A few things that work for me:
Do a brain dump. Set a 10-minute timer and write down everything on your plate between now and Thanksgiving. All of it. Then decide what truly has to happen, what can wait, and what you can hand off. I walk through the full process in Teacher Burnout Crisis Care: The Power of a Brain Dump Session.
Ask the energy question. Before you say yes to one more committee, club, or after-school event, ask: “Does this give me energy, or drain it?” (More on that in Back to School Without Burnout.)
Protect the basics. Sleep, nourishing meals, and moving your body are usually the first things we drop when life gets busy, and they’re the things we need most right now. Do your best not to let them slip two days in a row.
Let AI take something off your plate. October is full of writing tasks: progress report comments, conference notes, parent emails. These are perfect jobs for an AI assistant. Try a prompt like this:
“I’m a [grade level] teacher preparing for parent-teacher conferences. Help me create a simple one-page conference outline that starts with a student strength, shares one area of growth, and ends with one way families can support learning at home. Keep the tone warm and encouraging.”
You still bring the heart and the knowledge of your students. AI just helps you get the first draft done in minutes instead of an hour. If you’re new to this, start with my 10-Minute Prep Challenge.
3) Sustain It
Getting through October is one thing. Staying well through the rest of the year is another.
Find your people. You don’t need to be friends with everyone in your building, but you do need a village. Plan a grading party with the teacher down the hall. Swap lesson ideas. Walk the track together after dismissal. Building a better tribe starts with one or two people.
Put something on the calendar to look forward to. A Saturday with no grading. A dinner with friends. A long walk with a good podcast. Hope is a powerful energy source.
Remember what comes next. In Moir’s model, disillusionment is followed by rejuvenation. Rest, reflection, and support help you get there. You won’t feel like this forever.
A Note for School Leaders
As a former principal, I know how tempting it is to roll out something new in October. Before you do, ask your team:
- “What can we remove?”
- “What can we postpone?”
- “How can we care for our people this month?”
Sometimes the most supportive thing a leader can do is protect a planning period, cancel a meeting that could have been an email, or simply say, “I see how hard you’re working. Thank you.”
Building A Better Tribe This Fall
If October has you feeling stretched thin, it doesn’t mean you chose the wrong career. It means you’re human, and you care deeply about your students.
Name it. Tame it. Sustain it. And give yourself the same grace you give your students every single day.
Your friend,
Vimbo
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