Life as an Introvert in a People Business: How to Thrive

For those who have known me in my various business careers, they are usually surprised to find out that I am pretty introverted. My natural inclination is towards books and the internet versus meeting. It’s not that I don’t like meeting and hanging out with people. I do and enjoy it. But like many introverts, too much social time is draining. In fact it’s both physically and mentally exhausting.

I only learned this during my time at Yahoo! traveling the world, meeting colleagues, business partners and clients all over for days and weeks on end.

I tend to have pretty good health but I found myself getting very sick all the time. It wasn’t the travel, it was the intense level of social activities and constant meetings every single day. Even on weekends. I discovered the cure was pretty simple. Just taking a day to myself every week. Just one day of time to myself to recover my energy, literally hiding in my hotel room just reading and surfing the web or watching stupid movies, ordering room service.

Resting ethic is important. It’s no different than taking time after a heavy work out at the gym. You need recovery time. Same with your mind & emotions. It’s the only way you can be your best self. Time for yourself to recover, to read and think and get perspective. It’s great to be able to do your own thing by yourself. It helps you rebuild energy to effectively engage others when you can jump back into the fray.