Why You Don’t Have to Love Every Part of Teaching

You know the old cliché, “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.”

Yeah, that’s not real.

No one loves every aspect of their job, and the expectation that you do isn’t helpful. Whether you’re an NFL quarterback or a classroom teacher, there are going to be parts of your work you don’t enjoy, get sick of, or simply don’t find inspiring. Too many people are sold the message that you’re supposed to be passionate about every aspect of your work, and if you’re not, you need to move on and find something else. And this is what’s happening in the workplace right now. 

A recent McKinsey study found that 77% of Gen Z workers are currently looking for a new job, nearly double the rate of other generations. They also report more obstacles to working effectively than any other age group and significantly higher rates of mental-health challenges. That doesn’t mean Gen Z is lazy or entitled. It means many young people entered the workforce with unrealistic expectations about what work is supposed to feel like. 

Many of us have been sold this message that passion and pleasure are the ultimate goal, and when you are deprived of either, something is wrong. But the fact is, there will always be aspects of life and work that are difficult, mundane, and uninspiring. 

So let’s start with this: you don’t have to love every aspect of your work. 

Just because you’re a proud educator, parent, salesman, lawmaker, pastor— doesn’t mean you have to love everything about your role. Dog walkers can love dogs but still hate picking up their poop. 

The 20% Rule

However, what is necessary is loving certain aspects of your work. There has to be parts of what you do in order to thrive. Researcher Marcus Buckingham says that we should love doing at least 20% of the tasks of our work to prevent burnout. The 20% Rule shows that people need to experience some enjoyment every day while they work to be content with their career choices. We need to know that the stuff we don’t necessarily enjoy is worth it. 

For instance, I love leading discussions. Whether with students or adults, one of my favorite things to do professionally is introduce an idea and then create a space where people can talk about it, wrestle with it, and exchange thoughts about it. I love the unpredictability of where conversations go and energy in the room when people are genuinely thinking.

On the other hand, I’ve never really loved the documentation side of the work. I don’t love entering information into systems, tracking data in spreadsheets, or keeping up with the administrative and logistical details behind the scenes. I understand why those pieces matter. They’re necessary, but they don’t feel nearly as creative or energizing to me. Both of these realities exist within the same job. And part of the reason I’m able to do the parts of the work that don’t inspire me is because I’m filled up by the parts that do.

I’ve met teachers who love designing projects but dread lecturing. Teachers who love one-on-one conferences but struggle with large-group instruction. Teachers who love coaching student thinking but hate paperwork. Same job, different 20%.

You need to love parts of your work too.

Protecting the Joyful Parts of Your Work

So if you’re an educator, what parts of your job do you love? What tasks do you genuinely enjoy doing? Whatever your answer is, it’s crucial that you treat those as more than extras or indulgences, but essentials. They need to be a regular part of your schedule. And if you’re thinking, “I don’t have much room in my schedule for the parts of my job that bring me joy,” then as hard as it is, make room. 

Try this: list the tasks that energize you. Then list the tasks that drain you. Look for ways to increase the energizing ones, even by 10%. You don’t have to redesign your entire job to do this. It means making small, intentional shifts. 

Love class discussion? Add a few more structured discussions per week. 

Want to work one-on-one more? Shorten a whole-group lesson and build in conferencing time. 

Love doing projects? Turn one traditional unit into a project. 

Need more creativity in your work? Protect a weekly block of time to write, build, or plan something new.

Those small changes add up. A handful of extra moments each week spent doing work that energizes you can change how you experience your entire job. It will make you better at your work and more satisfied with your work too.

I love this quote from Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs: “Don’t follow your passion, but always bring it with you.” The idea that we are supposed to maintain passion for our jobs at all times is fiction. There are going to be parts of your day you don’t enjoy, but that’s okay, because you will also have tasks and moments planned where you do. And according to the 20% Rule, they need to be at least 20% of your time. 

So run an audit. Name what makes you tick and lights you up, and then find ways to make sure they happen regularly. You don’t need to love your entire job. You just need to love enough of it to sustain you.

Listen to this podcast episode where dive into this even deeper. Episode 71 of The Epic Classroom Podcast