Talk it through with Aurelius
Library›Aurelius›The problem
Aurelius · Work & Leadership
Knowledge + Guidance

I can keep up, so why does teaching everyone wear me out?

You are not weak for feeling worn down. You took on two jobs — doing your part, and making sure everyone else keeps up — and gave it one name: the plan. The weight is real. It just has the wrong name. Teaching everyone is not your sole duty. Your team agreed to a shared plan. Every person in it accepted responsibility for learning it too. You cannot hold their understanding for them without becoming the one point where the whole thing breaks. The fix is not to work harder or care less. It is to decide, plainly, what you will teach once — and what you will let others ask for, struggle through, or find on their own.

◆ How this problem reads on the two dials
GuidanceKnowledge
More coaching
A little to learn
1:1 with AureliusWith others (a Pod)
Some one-to-one
Practise with peers
The person already understands the problem; what they need is a short, firm set of actions to stop absorbing everyone's learning alone.
How the two dials adapt to you →
What’s really going on

You are not overwhelmed by your own work. You are overwhelmed by carrying everyone else's understanding too, and calling it the plan. Choose a fixed number of things you will explain once, to the whole group, and refuse to repeat. What is left is their work to do, not yours to absorb.

🔒 What you’ll build togetherUnlock by starting
A moveName the three things you explain most often. Write each one down, once, well. Point people there instead of repeating yourself.
A moveSet a rule with your pod: each person asks a peer twice before they bring the question to you.
A movePick one set time each week for teaching. Move scattered questions into that slot instead of answering on demand.
A moveWhen you feel the pull to explain something a fifth time, stop. Ask yourself: is this teaching, or am I doing their work for them?
A moveTell the group plainly what you will stop repeating. Let the silence after that statement sit. It is doing its job.
PractiseThe Repeat List · a Pod of 4 · 30 min

What changes unlock by starting

  • Fewer repeated questions eating into your day.
  • A team that solves more before it comes to you.
  • A clear line between your work and others' responsibility to learn.
  • More energy left for the plan itself, not just explaining it.

Related problems

One object, two jobs: a public answer to a real problem, and — the moment you start the chat — Aurelius’s live plan for your version of it.