[Massplanners] Planner Burnout

Mon Mar 28 10:14:49 EDT 2022

Mariah,

I know you posted this a while ago but I thought I could share some
thoughts with you since I’m closer to retiring than the beginning of my
career. The planning in the boom of social media is a challenge on some
many levels.  As a planner you are about change which can be very scary for
people.  You can’t control how someone thinks or acts.  I believe if
remember you can’t control how someone thinks or acts putting in your best
might not be enough but you need to do the planning work for positive
change.

Best,

Richard J. McCarthy, Jr.

Town Planner

1 Liberty Lane

Norfolk, MA 02056

508-440-2807

Office Hours- Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm

Closed Fridays

*As a reminder, please do not reply all to this email. If you have any
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*From:* MassPlanners [mailto:massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org] *On Behalf
Of *Mark Hamin via MassPlanners
*Sent:* Friday, March 4, 2022 12:54 PM
*To:* Massachusetts Planners; Mariah Kurtz; Thomas Bott
*Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] Planner Burnout

as perhaps the only person on the listserv who has had the pleasure and
privilege of being mariah's instructor and advisor in her planning
education, I want to commend her for bringing this topic to the attention
of the collective.  judging by the level of response, one answer to the
question is that robust professional solidarity in the wider community is
one of the vital antidotes to toxic local antagonisms.  (and I also agree
wholeheartedly with advice about the health benefits of outdoor natural
space/time and good hydration!)...  hope that you and your loved ones are
faring well, keeping safe, healthy, and happy during this time.  all best
wishes and warm regards, mark

https://www.theonion.com/new-pop-up-national-park-offers-500-square-feet-of-pris-1838046816

<https://www.theonion.com/new-pop-up-national-park-offers-500-square-feet-of-pris-1838046816>

New Pop-Up National Park Offers 500 Square Feet Of Pristine Wilderness For
Next 2 Days - The Onion
<https://www.theonion.com/new-pop-up-national-park-offers-500-square-feet-of-pris-1838046816>

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—With its organizers hailing the temporary site as the
city’s hottest destination this week, a new pop-up national park offers 500
square feet of pristine wilderness for the next two days, sources confirmed
Wednesday. “Starting bright and early this morning and continuing through
dusk tomorrow, the…

www.theonion.com

justice+equity+diversity+inclusion

Mark Hamin PhD (he/him/his)

Senior Lecturer II, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

MRP Graduate Director; BS SCD Undergraduate Director

Lead Coordinator, Sustainability Curriculum Fellows

BDIC Faculty Supervisor (STEAM and Sustainability Majors)

413 387-9760 (m); mhamin at larp.umass.edu

http://www.umass.edu/larp/people/mark-hamin
<https://url.emailprotection.link/?b3uK5GdMfNd-hdtca9T9cWdWQVGhdglqxQDNRjiriO2Y3rDA7twgJBGGbbj3fuWwgy2uOOUe1qg27k_x5FryQt9lr7ZWRcgFZ8sXw6MpiJ8lksF3QTxtx8kWUy5YYMLzm>

Proud member of the Massachusetts Society of Professors umassmsp.org
<https://url.emailprotection.link/?bzXgjU99pTX9ZtPk6fIv45YmufJUFJkHUksKYt_J0kO650Q7wXGViBMDrTAQXdtNC8o1mAOygzAx0WjSqJ2uUBQ~~>

------------------------------

*From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> on behalf of
Thomas Bott via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
*Sent:* Friday, March 4, 2022 12:26 PM
*To:* Massachusetts Planners <massplanners at masscptc.org>; Mariah Kurtz <
mariah.kurtz at erving-ma.gov>
*Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] Planner Burnout

Dear Mariah:

Let me start with the good news: things will go wrong, it’s perhaps the one
certainty we can take comfort in. And Gawd bless the Town of Erving, pop
1,665 for having the gumption to hire a planner especially one who appears
to have so much gumption. You do have a bit of a disadvantage given that
the Town of Erving has the distinction of being the last Franklin County
Town to be incorporated, which occurred in 1838 (acc to your website) and
you’re newish to the biz.

I am of the school of thought that people are good except for all those
people who aren’t. We also know that it’s the good people who are less
likely to show up at a meeting with torches held perilously close to a
highly flammable foam core board.

 I typically tell the folks that I’ve worked with that the people who are
good at their jobs can leave at 4:29 which is why one dayish a week I stay
a bit late. Leaving a little, and arriving same, also allows our neighbours
to get to where they are going at peak times without our single occupancy
vehicle/bicycle/Onewheel® in their way. I also usually spend a little
quality time in the office after a meeting buttoning up a few things
because I know I’m not going to go to sleep right away when I get home. The
time spent sort of decompressing before leaving for home also cuts into the
time available to pour an additional artisan distilled spirit or local
craft brewed beer/kombucha (I’ve also heard they have gummies here in the
Commonwealth) so one can self-medicate as necessary for the long run and
not burst into flames.

 We don’t get into this gig for the money but because we feel we have a
skill, a talent and a sense of mission to make the world, or maybe just a
pocket park, a better place. Our job is to work with the community and
provide accurate information is a timely matter with the hope that that
information will permit decision makers to make an informed decision. If
they don’t, we have fulfilled our role to the best of typically well
stretched capacity.  Luckily your Select Board (and some kind-hearted,
informed residents) have been supportive in assessing the capacity of the
planning function. Pro tip there’s always more to do than we can do.

 I often time think of Jules Winnfield, played by Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp
Fiction who seemingly very efficiently was able to leave his work at the
office.

*“The path of the righteous man planner is beset on all sides by the
iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who,
in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak through the valley
of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the finder of lost
children. *  The quote from his Ezekiel 25:17 speech gets all Old Testament
after that but as they tell old people like me “walk to the light” in your
case at the end of the tunnel to your public art project set to be
installed in July.

 Lots of us work in one horse/planner towns that don’t have someone to
bounce stuff off of so use your resources like the Listserve, sign up for
MAPD (its one of the best deals on the planet) and don’t be shy about
reaching out like you’ve done. Yours peers are for the most part decent
human beings (see above).  I’ll talk it up with some of the planner
apparatchiks about crossing the French King Bridge for a Planner’s Therapy
session so people will be familiar with the neighbourhood when they come
out in July for the public art reveal.

Thanks for signing up for the gig, Take care of yourself. We need people
like you for the long run.

TBott

Thomas Bott, Interim Carver Town Planner

*You too could follow me on Twitter @TBottPlimoth but it clearly isn’t
necessary*

On Friday, March 4, 2022, 10:18:38 AM EST, Mariah Kurtz via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

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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