Recharge Your Social Battery.

I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day and she was telling me about how she was really exhausted after a day back to “normal” where she conversed with many other people. She then said, “our social batteries are really low” and that struck a chord.

Lately, I have been spending a little more time in the office, a little more time socializing with others in person, more time at the gym with workout partners and a lot less time alone. Golf season starts up again this week so I will be at practice, work outs and in the office a lot more. I have definitely felt more mentally tired after my days because of these interactions and I know that it can continue as I get busier. Full days used to be something that I experienced 5 days in a row every week and now one busy day leaves me a little burnt out and feeling the need for a day off.

So how do we recharge our social batteries?

There are many ways and you get to decide which is the best way for you. You can make sure to put small acts of self care into your daily routine- take a short walk, get up from your desk and stretch, spend 5 minutes focusing on your breathing, close your office door when you need space to work without social interruption or spend some of your time still working from home, if possible.

Know when to say,”no” to something that is not serving you especially when you need to recharge. Take time for you in the mornings or the evenings to just be. To relax. To journal. To meditate. To catch up on a show. To eat a healthy dinner. To go for a walk. To read.

Life is starting to become busy again and hopefully over the last year and a half we have learned to slow down a little. I hope that you can take that into today- to schedule your life in a way that will keep you fulfilled, relaxed with the ability to recharge when needed.

I have learned that I don’t have to do “all the things, all the time” like I used to. My schedule was packed with meetings, practices, workouts, dinner plans, phone calls, dog walks, friend dates and several other things. I am now learning to only put things in my schedule that I know will add to my life, not subtract. I am learning to recharge my social battery to take care of me and to take care of my relationships with others.

How will you recharge? You got this. Take a breath. Your future self will thank you.