[Massplanners] Planner Burnout

[Elijah Romulus]

Good morning Mariah,

I've been a planner for about five years now. I don't know the best answer but I think some of the steps you are taking are good, assess your workload, set healthy boundaries where and when possible, and find a fellow planner you can commiserate with (lol!).

Sometimes this work will seem overbearing but perhaps figure out a way where your busy times are followed by some moments of reprieve. This work oftentimes can feel like a thankless job when it's going well and a scapegoat when it's going bad.

Know your worth and know that the work you do is making an impact in people's lives whether they know it or not.

Kind Regards,
Elijah

Elijah Romulus
Senior Comprehensive Planner
tel (508) 583-1833 ext. 217

Old Colony Planning Council
70 School Street, Brockton, MA 02301 | fax (508) 559-8768

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From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Mariah Kurtz via MassPlanners
Sent: Friday, March 4, 2022 10:17 AM
To: Massachusetts Planners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
Subject: [Massplanners] Planner Burnout

Happy Friday y'all.

This is a much less technical question than most here, but it's what our little Town is struggling with at this moment.

I write this 24 hours away from a Special Town Meeting where two zoning articles will be voted on. The situation has devolved into widespread misinformation and personal attacks on public officials over this. I have my slideshow, jumbo foam-core map, and beloved anxiety meds prepared, but more conceptually, how do you stay motivated when things like this happen and keep yourself from totally burning out?

I'm a relatively young planner and I understand that the nature of public work means not everything I work on will move forward, but our team here is exhausted. Several of us have been teetering on the edge of burn out for months. Luckily our Select Board (and some kind-hearted, informed residents) have been supportive of us taking a step back to evaluate our capacity for new projects. I've created a master project list which plans out 3-5 years. We're deciding which grants to apply for a year ahead to prepare ourselves. But it seems like every time we plan to take a breather something new happens: a flood washes out a bridge and three roads, construction can't be finished due to supply chain issues, a new wave of COVID hits, or we only have one plow driver available during a snow storm. I was only a Planner for 6 months before the pandemic hit so I feel like I've jumped into this career on hard mode. My light at the end of the tunnel is a public art project set to be installed in July and I'm hesitant to even look forward to that because I feel like something will go wrong.

I imagine that all of us are dealing with these struggles in some fashion, so what tools do you and your team use to cope with these hurdles short term and prevent burn out long term?

Mariah Kurtz (she/her)

Assistant Town Planner



Town of Erving

12 East Main Street

Erving, Massachusetts 01344

Phone: (413) 422-2800 ext. 1108 |  Online: www.Erving-Ma.gov<http://www.erving-ma.gov/>  | Facebook: Town of Erving<https://www.facebook.com/townoferving>

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When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication.
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