The Resilient Architect
A free, burnout resilience newsletter for Architects. One actionable tactic each week to help you overcome chronic burnout, engineer self-awareness, and build a thriving career in architecture.
Stop sabotaging your architecture career đ¤
February 24, 2025 Hello, Friend! Burnout isnât just making you tired â itâs actively derailing your architecture career. As someone whoâs coached hundreds of young architects through career transitions and burnout, Iâve seen firsthand how insidious burnout can be. It doesnât just show up as exhaustion or Sunday night dread. It manifests in subtle ways that can completely derail your professional growth. The worst part? Most architects donât realize itâs happening until theyâre deep in the...
3 truths that would've helped my early Archi-Career (and avoid burnout) đ
August 18, 2025 Hey Friend! The Architecture profession has a way of making you feel like every decision could make or break your entire career. I spent years treating every markup, every meeting minute, every sketch like it was life or death. The stress of âgetting it rightâ consumed me, and I found myself working nights and weekends, chasing awards I thought would validate my worth. Looking back, I realize I was baking my career like a first-time cake bakerâtoo much pressure here, not...
The uncomfortable truth about Archi-career growth đ¨
August 11, 2025 Hey Friend! Your comfort zone is slowly killing your architecture career. I know that sounds harsh, but hereâs the reality: every Architect I know whoâs truly thriving has one thing in commonâthey regularly do things that make them uncomfortable. They stretch themselves beyond what feels natural, fail a few times, get back up, and discover theyâre capable of far more than they imagined. The difference between Architects who burn out and those who build lasting, fulfilling...
Q&A: Sustainable firm growth, toxic firms, tasks outside your comfort zone đ
August 4, 2025 Hey Friend! Welcome to another Q&A with your friendly neighborhood Resilient Architect. Each month, I answer the questions about being a Resilient Architect that you want most. Iâve curated 4 of your questions from Architects of all different experience levels. Emerging Professionals, Mid-Career, and Firm Leaders. If youâd like to participate, please fill out the Google Form by clicking the button below. Iâll pick a few questions (3 to 5 each month) and write about them here...
Stop planning every detail of your Archi-Career đź
July 28, 2025 REMINDER: Next week, we'll have another Q&A post where Iâll answer your burning questions about all things burnout, work/life balance, mental health, and career building as an Architect. If you'd like to participate, please complete this brief form. Thanks! The Resilient Architect Q&A Form Hey Friend! Archi-Career uncertainty isnât your enemyâitâs the very thing that makes architecture exciting. But hereâs the problem: Weâve been taught to believe that successful Architects have...
Architecture isn't your calling (and that's ok) đ
July 21, 2025 Hey Friend! Architecture is just a job, not a callingâand admitting this might be the most liberating thing you ever do. For years, I bought into the myth that great Architects must live and breathe design, that our work defines us, that passion should consume us. I thought the romantic version of being an Architectâthe one you see in magazinesâwas worth the overwork, burnout, and sacrificing everything else. But hereâs what Iâve learned after two decades in this field: the...
Stop drowning during Construction Administration tasks đ
July 14, 2025 Hey Friend! Construction season shouldnât feel like a war zone, but for most Architects, it does. Here in Buffalo, we get a brief winter reprieve when the snow flies and projects go dormant. But as soon as the snow melts, itâs absolute chaosâcontractors scrambling to make up for lost time, schedules compressed into impossible timelines, and every project hitting the ground running simultaneously. Even if youâre in a warmer climate without seasonal constraints, you know the...
Q&A: Burnout, bad hires, and design skills đĽ
July 8, 2025 Hey Friend! Most Architects I know are hesitant to ask for help (especially when they need it most). Today, I wanted to try something new to help those reluctant Architects become more resilientâa Q&A session. Each month, Iâll answer the questions about being a Resilient Architect that you want most. Since this is the first of the series, Iâve curated 4 questions Iâve been asked in the past from Architects of all different experience levels. Emerging Professionals, Mid-Career,...
Why I bombed my latest presentation (on purpose) đŁ
June 30, 2025 Hey Friend! The best Architects arenât afraid to suck at things theyâre already good at. I recently spoke at two very different eventsâa private Lunch & Learn about mental health for an Architecture firmâs âWellness Wednesdaysâ series, and a lightning-fast 6-minute presentation for the Buffalo Architecture Foundation about one of my projects. Despite having over a decade of public speaking experience, I deliberately tried new approaches for both talks that pushed me out of my...
Why pushing yourself too hard pushes you backwards đ°
June 23, 2025 Hey Friend! Pushing harder doesnât always push you forwardâsometimes it pushes you straight into a wall. For the past few years, Summer has meant one thing for this Resilient Architect: training season. I love signing up for events like 5k runs, 20+mile bike rides, and even a sprint triathlon each year to keep my body fit and my mind sharp. But recently, I got so excited to see the sun (after weeks of rain) that I went completely overboard without resting. A 7-mile hike one day,...
When to save the day (and when not to) đŚ¸ââď¸
June 16, 2025 Hey Friend! Balance doesnât mean shaking off responsibilityâespecially when you know itâs the right thing to do. I learned this the hard way after burning out early in my career, pushing myself to save every project, meet every impossible deadline, and be the hero who stayed until 2am fixing everyone elseâs problems. Now Iâve found something better than blind heroics or total avoidance: a framework for knowing when to step in and when to preserve my well-being. A while back, I...
A free, burnout resilience newsletter for Architects. One actionable tactic each week to help you overcome chronic burnout, engineer self-awareness, and build a thriving career in architecture.