Do you have five or more shifts in a row? Did you sign up for something that has left you with no recovery days? Do you have a major week-long event? Let's talk about how to keep your social battery above the negative numbers.
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| Courtesy of Thriftyintrovert.com |
Picture it, you signed up to do a major event. You have to work on it all week in a place that doesn't qualify as a recharge zone. You are an introvert that needs a mental/social break. How do you keep your energy in the positive numbers? That is today's conundrum.
In case any of you reading this are not introverts, I'll explain. Social energy is lower in introverts, who need more time alone to recharge and process their thoughts and day. If we don't have that we are not at our best. Results may vary when we are not at our best. For example, we may be curt and short with people, barely adding anything to a conversation and only nodding. Other times we just avoid people. Some get really rude and snarky. Again, results vary based on people, personality, and who we are speaking with. We may act like an NPC.
Physical Health
We are starting here for a reason. When you don't drink enough water, sleep enough hours, and eat enough food you are not going to be okay, energy level aside. Go take your showers and make sure you ate lunch. Pick up a bottle of water on your way to work. That means you. That means me. That means anyone who is reading this. Go to bed at reasonable hours. Give your body the food and water it needs.
This also means exercise. That's right, you need to move your legs today and dance around. Even if you literally just take laundry up and down the stairs four times it means you are moving. Make it a point to go move around. Sitting all day won't help. All of your parts are connected. Your brain likes the exercise. It is proven to help mental health to go running or walking. Zumba is great when you don't want to go walking or running. I play basketball every week. Pick something and roll with it.
Mental Health
Why is this second? Your body and mind are not separate. No one thinks clearly while hangry, dehydrated, or sleep-deprived. This is the next important step. After establishing all of the above section, you now have to assess how much energy you have. What is your mental state? Are you so sick of people you want to hide under the stairs and read a novel for hours on end? Does lunch and tea only help a little? Do you need to sit and turn off all the excess noise for a while?
Think of it this way; you are either on green, yellow, or red battery level. Green is "ready to go, no loss of energy", yellow is "I'd better conserve some", and red is "Jesus take the wheel". Red is when I begin praying for energy to get through a shift. Yellow is me trying not to talk to chatty people. Green can fool some people into thinking I'm an extrovert. I think you all get the point. What level are you on?
After determining this, you keep your mental state in mind when planning your day. If you are on yellow or red, you should definitely plan calming activities and avoid socializing for most of the day (until you have to). For example, I avoid social media and screen time when I have no energy left. I give myself permission to sit and do nothing except drink tea and read. My goals that have no due dates can take a flying leap when I am at yellow and getting closer to red.
My Faith
This is written from a Christian perspective and may not reflect your beliefs. I do not intend to shove my faith down your throat. This is my perspective and my experience. Thank you for understanding. Let us continue.
In my personal experience, my faith in Jesus is a major thing. I start my day listening to God's Word and it starts off in a more peaceful mindset, no matter what the actual day brings to the table. I have prayed to God asking for the energy to power through the next one or two shifts I have left in my week. He has delivered every time. Without His power, I could not be serving in the way that I am. My prayer life and my time with Jesus make a big difference in my life and my mental health. Jesus has put me on green when I was nearly at red. I am nothing without Him. I couldn't do this alone.
Finding Moments to Recharge
I know someone who goes to the bathroom for ten minutes every shift to get a grip on life. Personally, I try to recharge as much as possible before stepping into social situations. The real question is what do you do when you don't have much time to recharge at all?
The first thing you should do is avoid all small talk (if you can). This means you may need to make an excuse or two about going to the bathroom or needing to talk to someone else.
Another way to recharge is to walk somewhere alone for ten minutes or as long as you have to catch your breath. Or as long as you have before someone is going to miss you. Basically, if you have five minutes in the bathroom or the hallway and need it, go.
Put your phone away. All of you heard me correctly. Put it down and slip it into your pocket or purse. Your device is draining your energy. You need that for the event you are running. Don't let your device drain you. Even if it means you have to doodle in a notebook, you'll still have more social energy left after you've put the phone away.
Find the people in the room who give energy back. Who do you actually like spending time with? Who do you not tire of conversing with? Spend your time there. This may be the dog or cat. It may even be a human who also doesn't want to be there. The introverts will find each other. Trust me. They are the ones who want to go home or immediately bond with the cat.
Breathe. Take a few breaths for a minute or two. Don't forget that deep breathing helps.
Why We Need To Recharge
I am speaking to those who think social events give more energy than take. Extroverts get energy from social activity and introverts already have a lot going on in their own heads. Introverts don't need as much socializing and need rest punctuated by activity. Strike that and reverse it for the extroverts. Introverted people may start to get overwhelmed when there is too much going on. I can get sensory overload from loud environments. Sensory overload is when your brain has too much going on, everything is too loud, and nothing is making sense because your brain is unable to process anything.
Recharging and managing my stress is something that lowers the possibility of sensory overload. Introverts like me also want to be at our best. We can't be at our best when nothing is left of our social battery. Yet, the world pushes us to keep constantly doing something or be constantly stimulated. Constant stimulation is not rest and your body will not like it when you don't rest. Everyone needs rest. In summary, we need to recharge so we can be at our best and be doing our best.
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Source:
12 Ways To Recharge Your Social Battery When It’s Drained (aconsciousrethink.com)
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