“Introverts are like a rechargeable battery. They need to stop expending energy and rest in order to recharge. Extroverts are like solar panels that need the sun to recharge. Extroverts need to be out and about to refuel.”
-Marti Olsen Laney
I’m going to warn you right now, this is going to be a bit of a nerdy post 😉 The above quote perfectly describes how I feel on a daily basis. I (usually) start the day with a full charge. Then as the day progresses, I lose energy. This made me think of Link from the Legend of Zelda. For anyone not familiar with the games, Link has a row of hearts at the top of the screen and every time he takes damage, the hearts start to empty. If he loses all the hearts, its game over and you have to restart. Kinda like me.
Since I enjoy video games, I also enjoy comparing aspects of my life to video games. As I encounter different situations in my daily life, my energy drops a little. Sometimes it drops a lot. But rather than drinking a potion to replenish it, I have to be a little more creative.
There are a few recurring, unavoidable events that drain my energy at work. Since it is not considered socially acceptable to live in a cave, I have to go to work, talk to people, and spend time being social. There are constant interruptions to contend with. I lose track of how many times a day I’m interrupted and jerked out of my concentration. People ask questions, come up to my desk and make requests, and will start talking randomly for no reason. And after work is over, there’s still things to be done. Whether I go to the gym for a workout, shop for groceries, or pick things up at the mall, I’m spending energy being out in public. And if I do too many of these things, I end up drained and overwhelmed by the end of the day (or sooner).
In order to counteract these things, I have a few secret weapons. While I don’t have potions or special equipment to help me, there are things I can do. At work I take breaks for coffee/tea and lunch. When I’m getting overwhelmed, I’ll head to the kitchen and grab a snack. A change of scenery can help immensely. I’ll read a book on my lunch break. Even though I’m still at work, reading has a way of isolating me from the rest of my environment. Its a great way to escape temporarily. Even driving to and from work is a good way to recharge a little bit. Then when I get home, I go all out. I’ll change into my super comfy clothes, wrap myself in a big blanket and sit on the couch with a cup of tea and the cat.
Do you have any secret weapons?
Image credit: Both images by Colony of Gamers is licensed under CC by 2.0
Dito to most of those things you’ve talked about. 🙂 In my lunch breaks I used to get out of wherever I was and find a peaceful place to read and relax.
You already know that I love nature and going out at weekends in the woods and taking my camera with me is how I like to recharge my batteries; I find you just need to get away from it all, like you said about constant interruptions and the like, although the cave thing could still work. 😀 Nice post Ally and sums up being an introvert in a nutshell! 🙂
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Thank you for commenting 🙂 I definitely need to get out of the office every once in a while, just to have a change of scenery, otherwise I will go crazy haha. As you already know, I love your photography 😉
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Thanks for the compliment and keep up the good blogging. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 you too!
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I had two secret weapons at work. One was to always go out for lunch. Having some time outside really helped. I also used to hide in the bathrooms located in the lobby. Most people used the bathrooms on the same floor as their office so the bathrooms in the lobby were rarely used. I used to hide in there for 5 minutes just to have a little refuge to give myself a moment to mentally prepare for the next couple of hours of noise and bustle. It was my little secret place. Massively anti-social and kind of odd behaviour but hey, I needed my quiet time. What’s an introvert to do!
I love the analogy of introverts being like rechargeable batteries. I think it’s a really accurate description.
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I totally agree, getting to leave the office is so refreshing. Sometimes you just need to get out. Now that the weather is a bit nicer, I’m planning to do that more often. I totally hide in washrooms too, I’ll even take a quick break there while shopping if I need to. Its amazing how effective that small break can be, and I can psych myself up for the next couple of hours. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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There are times where I think that living in a cave would be the solution to everything. As a dragon maybe that’s just a personal preference thing…
I also hide in restrooms when the need to get away arises. There’s just something about being alone that nothing else can touch on the recharge scale.
Change of scenery is another weapon near the top of my list. It’s one of the reasons I go out to lunch on Friday’s. I can still do the ‘work’ stuff I need to, but I’m in a much more relaxed environment, and away from the distractions that have the chance to drain me during the other days of the week.
And I’m all over going home and immediately changing into comfy pjs. : 3
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Its amazing that nothing is as effective as alone time for recharging. Especially in comfy pjs 😉 Now I want to go home and curl up on the couch haha.
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XD
Yeah me, too. Sadly my day is just starting. I’ll have to use those thoughts as reward / incentive to get through the day. : )
Hope your day goes well. ^^
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Thanks, hope you have a great day too!!
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A book or a hot bath always do it for me!
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They both sound lovely 🙂
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I’d usually take my lunch break in my car. That way no one could bother me. haha
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Good idea 🙂
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