‘Don’t Eat Email for Breakfast’: Advice for Counselors on Burnout and Balance

A counselor walks through the school doors before the first bell rings. Shoulders tense. Heart racing. Mind spinning through unfinished emails, parent messages, and meetings ahead. That’s fight or flight, the body’s stress response kicking in before the day even begins.

During Forum 2025’s “Renew and Recharge: Navigating New Realities in School Counseling” session, Christy Conley, a counselor at North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga., and Diane Campbell, director of college counseling at Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins, Colo., gave voice to what so many educators feel but rarely say out loud.

“If you’re not smiling like you used to,” Conley told the audience, “and if you’re not feeling hope or connection, it might be time to check where you are on the burnout pyramid.”

Campbell followed with practical strategies for restoring balance—blocking time on the calendar, finding small daily wins, and embracing rest as part of the work. “Stamina isn’t about pushing through,” Campbell said. “It’s about protecting your focus, your fire, and your reason for doing what you do.”

Then came Campbell’s simplest, most powerful pieces of advice: Don’t eat email for breakfast. “Before diving into the inbox,” she said, “take a moment for yourself … sunlight, coffee, quiet to start the day on your own terms, not someone else’s.”

Conley and Campbell’s message was clear: counselors can’t support students when they’re running on empty. Burnout isn’t a personal flaw; it’s a professional crisis that touches entire school communities.

College Board staff see this in our daily work with counselors. That's why we strive to build a supportive professional community and provide clear guidance and tools, so that counselors spend less time on logistics and more time with students. 

Fewer stressful mornings. Fewer "fight or flight" moments. More room to focus on what matters.