5 Tips for Introverts to Thrive at Work

How to manage your energy and take care in work environments catered to extroverts

Calling all introverts! I’m talking to you, my friends. Learning how to manage your energy and take care in work environments catered to extroverts can seem impossible. Work is already a pretty stressful place. Unless you’re in the 0.1% of humans who genuinely have an enjoyable, relaxing, and supportive place to work (also, tell us where you are working), then no matter what, work can be stressful. This can be true even if you’re working for an amazing company, and if you love what you do. Human beings just stress us out.

Some of us feel that way more than others. Yes, I’m talking to my introvert friends that already have a limited tolerance for the amount of human-induced stress they can reasonably take on during the day. For those of us working in highly collaborative and extroverted environments, the expected levels of extended and intense human interaction can quickly enter the nightmare zone.

For example, I work in the management consulting industry. “Why would you do this to yourself if you’re an introvert?” You might ask. Consultant’s days are spent holding client’s hands through pretty much any task (and doing it with a smile!), debating and “brainstorming” with your team for hours on end, always being at-the-ready to defend your work in a last-minute presentation, and then, networking, networking, networking. Did I mention networking? Wow, I’m mentally and emotionally exhausted after just typing that.

For those of us in similar, people-centric industries, this can be especially draining. There’s no time to stop and recharge. And, you’re struggling to keep up with the unlimited power of the extroverted energizer bunnies who seem to strangely be thriving off of so much interaction. These jobs are built for those energizer bunnies—there’s no question about it. But, don’t for a second think that you can’t do as good of a job as they can (or better!). They have enough fuel to run this marathon in one sitting, you might have to break up the race into little sprints, and that’s okay.

If you’re struggling with managing and taking care of your energy in extroverted work environments, here are 5 key tips:

1. Know what you need to recharge—in and out of the office

If you don’t know what you need, no one else will, and your extroverted bosses may not even notice. I recognize this can be frustrating. Sometimes we are just thrown into the mix so quickly, we don’t have the time or brain power to think about what we would need to fix it. The biggest key here is to pay attention. Reflect on your day as much as possible. What energizes you? What environments cause you to feel more drained than others? Keep a note of how different activities, tasks, and scenarios effect your ability to feel “on,” or cause you to loose speed really fast. Having this awareness, will set you up to better advocate for yourself down the line.

This awareness isn’t just limited to the workplace. Pay attention to what you need at home so you can show up in the best way to work. Whether that’s 8 hours of sleep, getting a work out in before or after work, or unplugging and putting the laptop away at a certain time, make sure you are setting yourself up for success the next day.

Everything you do outside of work affects who you are when you show up to work (and vice versa! We are human!).

2. Take breaks

Some of us unfortunately don’t have the flexibility or the work environment to personally influence that much change in how teams operate (I would say that you can always advocate for yourself, no matter what. But, I understand that some work environments are way more strict and regimented than others). Find ways to take breaks after particularly draining activities.

For example, I always try to schedule 30 minutes of “me” time after a big client meeting (this doesn’t always work out, but I do my best). I know I’ll be especially drained after long conversations where I have to be fully “on” the whole time. My brain feels like mush once I am able to relax. Having that buffer time after a high energy meeting is essential to recharging my batteries and making sure that I’m good to go for the rest of the day.

If you don’t have a lot of flexibility, try even taking tiny breaks throughout the day. Go for a walk around the building, or take the long way to refill your water bottle (more relevant examples during different times, but you can do this at home, too!). Breaking up chunks of working time with body movement in different locations is a great way to refresh.

Bonus: Outside time is best! If you’re having a small, casual one-on-one meeting offer to take a walking meeting around the floor, building, or have the meeting outside! Nothing feels better than fresh air. Now, while many of us are still working at home, take your lunch outside or take some calls while you go for a walk.

3. Set boundaries and communicate them

This is easily the most critical step. You have to set boundaries with the people you work with to get what you need. If you need to have your laptop closed by a certain time every night to recharge, let your team know the times when you are available instead. If you can only handle 3 to 4 hours of team collaboration time a day, let them know that limit and offer to find a meeting time another day. Don’t let the “urgency” of the work dictate your ability to be well as you’re doing it.

4. Norm with your team up front

As much as you can set team norms upfront about how you will work, the better. Especially if you work in an industry where you’re constantly working with new people and teams. With the awareness of knowing what you need to be successful (tip #1!), communicate that to your team upfront and facilitate a conversation together around what will and won’t work for the group. It’s important that your co-workers have an understanding of what keeps you at your best, that way they can be more mindful of what situations enable you to best “perform”.

“What if they don’t care?” You ask. Well, telling your team upfront can, at the least, give you some cover if a situation comes down the road where you feel stuck. Sometimes it’s how you talk about why the norm is important as well. Your boss cares the most about team performance, delivering that final product, and budget, whatever it may be. If you can connect the norms you need to the team’s ability to perform at that level, deliver that product at the highest quality, or spend time and resources more wisely, then most managers will have open ears.

5. Skip the Zoom Video

Times like these have brought a whole new stressor to the “workplace” (a.k.a. my apartment) that I was not expecting: the never-ending zoom video call. I cannot tell you how draining it is to me to sit on a video feed for 70% to 90% of my day collaborating with my team or in and out of meetings.

Nothing makes me more mentally fried by the end of the day. But, just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to. Turn off the video. Dial in from your phone and walk around! Get away from your laptop if you just need to listen or speak. Do what you need to do, but please, let’s not suffer any more than we need to right now. I need to work on this, too. I’m slowly working towards my goal of 2 to 3 hours max of video time a day!

Of course, each of us need different things to be successful at work. The bottom line is: don’t do stuff that isn’t actually necessary and that you don’t want to do. Do you really need to do that coffee chat? Is the 4th networking call this week really necessary? Is the team debrief & brainstorm truly needed right now, or can it wait until the morning?

Don’t pressure yourself to push through everything like the energizer bunnies. Know what you need, take breaks, communicate with your team, and get rid of the extra stuff. Then, thrive!

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This post is a guest article I wrote for LifeLike Magazine and was originally published here on July 17, 2020. LifeLike is a lifestyle magazine for people, by people—curating the best stories, ideas, foods, inspirations, and everything that’s more LifeLike. Learn more about LifeLike at https://lifelikemag.com/ and follow them on Instagram @lifelike_mag.

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