Faculty burnout isn’t new, but it’s getting harder to ignore. Between competing demands, shifting expectations, and an ever-growing to-do list, faculty continue to be stretched more thinly than ever before. The pursuit of teaching excellence, groundbreaking research, and meaningful service often comes at the expense of personal well-being.
At NCFDD, we’ve spent 15 years partnering with institutions and faculty members to understand and help solve the most pressing needs in higher education. And in 2025, one message is loud and clear: burnout is real, and breakthrough requires intention.
So how can faculty reclaim their time, protect their energy, and still thrive in academia? Here are three essential strategies:
1. Make Time Management Work for You, Not Against You
Time is one of the most valuable (and limited) resources for faculty. Whether you’re juggling teaching loads, grading, grant deadlines, or committee work, the feeling of “never enough time” is widespread.
The good news? You can take back control.
Small shifts in planning can help reduce the sense of always being “behind.” Strategies like time-blocking, weekly planning, and aligning daily tasks with long-term goals are powerful tools for reducing overwhelm and increasing momentum.
While individual time management strategies are essential, they can’t fully counteract systemic inefficiencies and unclear expectations. Institutions have a key role to play in creating environments where time is respected and workload is manageable. That might include:
- Streamlining administrative tasks and reporting requirements
- Offering flexibility around teaching loads or service expectations
- Promoting equitable distribution of responsibilities
Faculty can take steps like setting weekly goals and aligning tasks with personal priorities, but those efforts are most effective when supported by transparent policies and workload clarity.
Looking to start strong? Our free webinar, Every Semester Needs a Plan, can help faculty set intentional goals, especially when paired with departmental support and reasonable expectations.
2. Prioritize Wellness as a Core Professional Practice
Wellness often gets framed as an individual responsibility, but burnout is usually the result of structural conditions: overwork, lack of control, unclear expectations. That said, there are still steps faculty can take to reconnect with their sense of purpose and build more sustainable routines.
Some questions we often encourage faculty to consider:
- What’s giving you energy right now and what’s draining it?
- Where might you need clearer boundaries?
- What can be paused, simplified, or let go?
In our recent Beyond Burnout webinar series, we explored these ideas through the lens of faculty life, with a focus on building capacity rather than adding more to the list. The recordings are available to members and provide reflection tools that can be adapted to a variety of institutional contexts.
3. Mentoring and Community are Not Optional
Many faculty default to solving problems in isolation, but that’s often when burnout sets in deepest. Mentoring, accountability groups, and informal communities can be vital sources of support.
If you’re unsure where to start, try asking yourself: Who do I go to for encouragement? For clarity? For perspective? If your list is short, it may be time to expand your mentoring network or re-engage with peers. We’ve found that when faculty have consistent spaces to reflect, share, and get feedback, they’re more likely to sustain momentum and feel connected, even when challenges arise.
It’s critical to note that creating space for mentoring and community can’t solely fall onto the shoulders of faculty members. Institutions must actively participate in building a culture rooted in this connectivity and support.
Institutions can, for example:
- Promote mentoring networks rather than relying on a single senior mentor model.
- Host informal community-building events that foster connection.
- Offer mentor training for both mentors and mentees to improve the quality of those relationships.
Our recent webinar, Mentoring Up for Faculty, explores how to navigate mentoring relationships in today’s academic environment, and what departments can do to support this work. The recording is currently available to NCFDD members and can be a helpful starting point in the conversation on mentoring.
Reclaiming Time and Energy Is Possible
The path from burnout to breakthrough doesn’t belong solely to individual faculty. It belongs to all of us—department chairs, deans, faculty developers, and campus leaders. When institutions commit to creating healthier systems, and when faculty are equipped with the tools to navigate their work with intention, real transformation becomes possible.
Whether you’re a faculty member looking for small shifts or an administrator rethinking support systems, the question remains the same:
What would it look like to prioritize both productivity and well-being together?
We don’t have to choose between excellence and sustainability. We can build structures that support both.
If you’re ready to take the next step, the Faculty Success Program (FSP) is designed to help faculty reclaim their time, advance their scholarship, and prioritize their well-being without burning out in the process.