Monday, July 14, 2014

Decompression Day

As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I am an introvert. And contrary to popular belief, that doesn’t mean that I am overly shy, or that I’m afraid to talk to people, or that I never leave the house. What it means for me is that I need to recharge my batteries after a lot of social activity, and that usually means taking time to myself. I call it my "decompression day," and I try to take at least part of a day every weekend to reset myself and get ready for the next week.

This past weekend, I was at ConnectiCon 2014, a fantastic multi-genre convention that includes anime, comics, games, movies and more. My podcast partner Matt Herring and I had a table where we were conducting podcast interviews as well as selling our own books. It was a blast, and I met a ton of very cool people, some of whom even bought my books. We talked everything from the King in Yellow to our favorite superheroes and more. I loved every second of it. I also got to bring my 11-year old daughter with me on Friday, and she had a great time. it was very special for me to be able to share that with her.


I spent all day Friday and Saturday at the show. And by Sunday, I was exhausted. My partner Matt went back for the last day of the show, but I had planned in advance to attend Friday and Saturday only. I knew I would need a day to recuperate before heading into the work week on Monday.

And that’s exactly what I did on Sunday. My wife and kids were visiting a relative, and I took the day to get a lot of reading and writing done, and just have some quiet time for myself. I had a great day creatively, and I had some much needed solitude.

For me, being an introvert means knowing my limits and taking care of myself. There’s a balance I have to maintain, and I think that’s the case for any introvert. Whether it’s an hour or an entire day, make sure you take time to decompress.

I’ve also mentioned her before, but Susan Cain wrote a wonderful book about being an introvert called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. It’s well worth your time, whether you’re an introvert yourself or someone close to you is. You can watch her Ted Talk below and check out her book here. There was also an interesting article on the Huffington Post a couple months ago that looked at the qualities of introverts.

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