Introverts (like me! And, I think, most bloggers) get their energy by being alone. They / we might enjoy spending time with others and being sociable, but it’s more draining for them / us, and they / we need quality alone-time to re-energize.

In my line of work, which for the sake of argument is essentially communications and requires me to continually be in contact with co-workers and regularly network with partners and prospects, finding the time to be alone and re-energize is especially important. When I worked from home as a freelancer full-time, I was able to go out and be sociable in the evenings and on the weekends very regularly. But nowadays when my day job is all about being around people, I find that a week of evenings to myself is something I look forward to immensely.

Not wanting to completely forgo my social life (or to keep my social life but just not enjoy it very much), I’ve picked up on one really great trick in particular which helps me to re-energize and replenish so that my day job doesn’t have quite such a draining effect on me. And that trick is this:

Going for a midday walk.

Yes. That’s it.

I’ve taken to spending my 30-minute lunch break as a walk break nearly every day, of late. I find that it is incredibly re-energizing, refreshing, and beneficial for several reasons:

1. It’s my alone-time. It is 30 minutes that I keep completely to myself. I have a route which is exactly 30 minutes long and so I can just walk the whole loop without a care in the world.
2. Breathing fresh air. I work in a basement (albeit a really nice basement) without a window in my office, so getting outside partway through the day for fresh air and sunlight is super important.
3. Getting some exercise. Mr Science and I generally do a quick yoga or go for a short run in the morning, and then I walk the 25 minutes to and from work, but it’s nice to get up from the desk after a few hours and really stretch my legs for a solid half-hour.
4. It gives me time to think. Sometimes your brain gets so fuzzy from staring at a computer that you lose sight of your workload, and I’ve found that taking 30 minutes to get outside and be by myself enables me to tackle any issues I might be having, or to plan how my afternoon will look – which increases my productivity when I get back to the office! On days when my brain isn’t fuzzy by noon, this is my chance to think about other things besides work – which is also very nice to do.

And sometimes it's nice to pretend I'm back here wandering through temples on my walk!

I’m lucky to work right in the downtown where there are plenty of areas to walk, and that I generally choose lunches which can be eaten at my desk. But if you like to spend some time with your co-workers at lunch, or if you like to sit down and just eat when you’re having lunch rather than take a bite between working, or if you don’t have anywhere that you can go to walk, or if your lunch break is super short (am I missing any excuses here? ;)), this “trick” can also be applied in a smaller dose. Even just a five- or 10-minute walk around the block can really help to replenish your energy stores as an introvert.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Do you like to go for midday walks? What tricks do you use to re-energize? Share in the comments section below!