My introverted self

I was in the doldrums. 

I wondered why I wasn’t having as much fun at work. I couldn’t pinpoint it. I sat down late in the evening with my wife, and it hit me. I’ve had a number of presentations and large team meetings over the past month and not much time for myself to regroup. 

Talk, talk, talk

I thought about the previous day. I was running from meeting to meeting. When I finally had a moment to myself, MS Teams chirped in the background, letting me know that another person wanted a piece of me. I hated myself for looking. 

I get my energy when I have a chance to step away, think through a problem or be creative and then rejoin the team or group. I get rejuvenated from small conversations. I lose energy when I spend too much time in large crowds or need to make too many large presentations.  I have no patience for idle chit-chat. 

Wasted time

Oh, I love talking about the virtues of the original Top Gun versus it’s 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick as I found myself talking with a coworker before the start of my third meeting that day. I don’t mind talking about how I spent my weekend or who I think should be kicked off The Bachelor or The Voice, or whatever reality TV show is the hot new show of the moment. I’m fine with all those things, but I’d much rather spend my time more wisely.

It’s been one of those kinds of weeks. Oh, I’ll be fine, I just need a weekend of doing nothing. I could use a week, I feel like I’ve been running nonstop, but I’ll settle for the weekend. When I get overworked, I find it helps to put my worries down on paper. 

Putting pen to paper

Here’s what’s on my mind:

–Work presentations. Fortunately, they’re coming to an end . . . at least for now. 

–Kids. My kids are grown, but I find, at least for me, you never stop worrying about them. I’ll worry about all three of them until they’re all back under my roof and then I’ll worry some more. 

–Vacation. I need to plan my next vacation. 

–Things I’m grateful for. This is less of a problem and more of a reminder to myself to be grateful to my wife and those closest to me for their love and understanding. 

And oh yea, one more thing, it’s time for me return to my cave.