This is Part Two of a four-part series about what each Brain Type needs to Thrive. To read the intro, click here.

ARCHITECT: Order and Balance

From the outside looking in, Architects can often seem like they have their shit together. They can get a lot done. They can set up structures and systems that may look effortless to others. They tend to like things a certain way, and that might look like order. Or, to some people, it may seem like Architects are just picky and need to loosen the reins on their structured systems.

But: here’s the secret to an Architect’s brain that they may not be so vocal about: they’re often incredibly STRESSED, worried, and frantic or anxious about how much they need to do.

A lot of Architects are workaholics who feel as if they’ve never done enough, will never do enough, and must work themselves relentlessly to the bone every single day, because all they can see is the work that still needs to be done.

Architects desperately need to find balance in their life as they create order in the chaos around them. More than any other Brain Type, Architects feel that fun and rest has to be earned, and what that actually means is so subjective that they can end up changing the goal posts several times before they allow themselves any semblance of rest.

Figuring out how to take a step back and focus their attention on a small handful of ways they can impact order in their life is vital for Architects. It’s a core thing they need to figure out on their path of self discovery so they can avoid burnout in the long-run.

The intention for the Architect daily prompt “Today I will create order and balance in my life by…” is to get Architects to stop frantically reacting all the time to every little detail that pops into their consciousness, and to calmly create the order they so desperately need.

What Architects really need to do is to sit down, calmly and thoughtfully and consider a few ways they can put things in their life in order. To stop feeling like the world will fall apart if they don’t organize everything right NOW, and just focus on a few key things that will create order in their life that day.

As for Balance, Architects desperately need to be reminded regularly to create balance in their life. The balance portion of the prompt is there to remind them that they need sleep, human connection, and relaxation time, and to get them thinking about how to do that in at least a small way each day.

Here are a few practical examples for strategies Architects can try out as they use the Daily Pages and work on their EVOlution:

• Making my bed and putting away laundry will help create order in my life today.
• Cleaning up my workspace before I need to start on my tasks for the day will help me create order in my life.
• Scheduling out my plans for the week, and syncing my calendar with my family’s calendars will help me create order in my life this week.
• I will set my stopping point for 6PM today. No work after that, I will allow myself fun & relaxation after this time. This will help me feel balanced.
• Today I will work a long day if I have to, so that tomorrow I can have the entire day off without worrying about work. This will help me create a sense of balance in my life.

One final note: Architects, remember that this section has limited space FOR A REASON! You can’t do it all at once! Enjoy the process.