Avoiding Athletic Director Burnout: Pacing Yourself To Go the Distance

As an athletic director, you may not be out on the field, but you are everywhere else. You manage schedules, support coaches, handle budgets, and ensure everything runs smoothly. No wonder burnout is one of the biggest occupational hazards in your role.

What is Athletic Director Burnout?

It’s more than feeling stressed or tired. Burnout is a full-on mental and physical crash, the kind that a weekend off, or even a vacation, can’t fix. When it happens, it takes serious time and effort to rebuild yourself and regain your health. The real solution is to prevent burnout before it takes hold. Here’s how you can keep your energy up, stay motivated, and go the distance.

Find Your Balance

It’s often tough to carry the weight of your athletic director responsibilities while keeping up with other important areas of your life. If one side of the scale gets too heavy, you’re headed straight for burnout. Of course, you can’t balance every single day perfectly. Some days will be long, stressful, and demanding. Instead, focus on balancing your week.

• After a late night at a game, block out time to recharge the next day.
• If your schedule is packed with meetings and emails, make time for something non-work-related.
• Make sure your professional stressors don’t overshadow the other important parts of your life.

Small adjustments each week can help keep burnout at bay.

Refuel the Right Way

Burnout prevention isn’t just about time management. It’s also about how you recharge. Finding activities that fuel you is important, and that can look different for everyone. 

Prioritize Proper Nutrition

Eating dinner several times a week from the concession stand is convenient, but fueling yourself right is key to keeping up your stamina. Lean proteins, fresh veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats keep your mind sharp and body strong. Stay hydrated, cut back on sugar and processed carbs, and focus on balanced meals that sustain you. Just like you emphasize nutrition for your athletes, make it a priority for yourself. After all, leading a program successfully starts with taking care of your own well-being.

Focus on Action

Some people find energy in hands-on projects like DIY tasks, gardening, or fixing things around the house. Others recharge by getting active, but not necessarily in a structured workout. Hiking, rock climbing, or even shooting hoops can be a fun way to relieve stress and stay engaged.

Find the Quiet

For some, unwinding and relaxing is the key to feeling refreshed. Whether it’s fishing, reading, listening to music, or simply taking time to do nothing, these moments of rest can help reset your mind. 

Connect With Loved Ones

Never underestimate the power of quality time with the right people. Reach out to family, friends, or anyone outside of the athletic world who brings positive energy and balance to your life.

Stay on Course

In the same way your athletes need training plans and game strategies, you need a plan to keep burnout from creeping in.

That might mean:

• Intentionally scheduling recharge time.
• Recognizing early warning signs of burnout (irritability, exhaustion, loss of motivation).
• Reaching out for help to delegate to, or simply lean on, your support system.
• Using the right tools like apps, planners, or anything that helps you stay organized without adding stress.

Final Thoughts

You wouldn’t let your athletes overtrain until they’re injured, right? Apply that same mindset to yourself. Pace yourself, refuel regularly, and stay on course. Your program needs you for the long haul.

Questions to Think About

• How can you tell when you’re running on empty?
• What activities help you recharge and reset?
• Who in your circle can step in when you need support?

Taking care of yourself isn’t a luxury. It’s the key to leading a strong athletic program.

Making the Workload More Manageable 

Stay organized, reduce stress, and focus on what matters most. Let Eventlink^® streamline your scheduling, ticketing, registrations, and more so you can avoid burnout and lead your program with confidence. 

Eventlink^® is the best-in-class software for schools and athletic departments. Trusted by schools nationwide, Eventlink is the go-to tool for Athletic Directors, coaches, administrators, parents, and students to manage day-to-day activities for each season. Eventlink streamlines game and practice schedules, e-contracts, facility management, digital tickets, athletic websites, and more. It simplifies the workload for schools and athletic departments while providing a user-friendly, ‘One Spot’ platform to connect with their parents, students, and community.