As an introvert with ADHD I feel like I can get pretty easily overwhelmed when I’m thrown off my weekly scheduled routine. So when coming off a long weekend, when my gym routine is all off because I have to drive to another gym location to have my proper type of work out (in a room away from everyone) AND didn’t do my usual grocery shop trip –  you best believe that I’m feeling all over the place and wound up eating poorly due to feeling stressed and anxious from being off of my routine.

Well, we are turning that around! I had a bunch of lieu time at work available to use, so I took one of those days today to give myself a reset. To me, this meant having a slow morning, going for a walk to get a coffee, writing down all my thoughts and planning out my schedule for the next upcoming days because I know that things are really going to pick up.

As an introvert, I need a LOT of alone time to recharge and process well… life in general. Many occasions are starting to pick up now like going on a few dates, birthdays and I also signed up for a copywriting class which I’m totally pumped for – but this also brings me anxiety because it slightly throws me off of my beloved weekend routine which is usually always a visit to the gym.

So to make sure I do stay on track as my schedule does pick up – I’ve discovered a few helpful habits for us introverts…

1. Prioritize your sleep – trust me this is a bare essential if you want to try to keep up with all the things going on in your life

2. Only attend the events if your GUT is telling you to do – that may mean not all the ones you currently have on your schedule right now – and that’s ok! Your energy is valuable and may be limited – Why waste it on the ones that don’t build you up or are helping you reach your goals?

3. Put it ALL in a calendar – This helps it from swirling in your head and to have that visual ofknowing exactly when each event is happening – I like to physically write it down in an agenda or planner and having it in a highly visible location at home. 

4. Schedule your time alone – Just as (or the more) important as all those events you’re going to attend, knowing you have time alone helps knowing that the social events will be more digestible because you know you have that time to re-charge, whether that be literally doing nothing, going for a walk, gym, or watching that feel-good show to help you unwind.

5. Do you even want to do the plans – If a friend wants to hang out and you actually want to – try suggesting an event that you actually want to do. Typically introverts like to be creative and in nature, we also tend to get easily overwhelmed in loud social settings, so try suggesting an activity you actually want to like a creative class, a walk in the park, etc. This will help fuel you as well and is less draining. If it’s an activity that helps you achieve one of your goals – even better!

6. Add a time-limit to your activities – Now this may sound harsh, but it’s ok if you can only hang out for 2 hours. You gotta take care of you!

7. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself – I used to bail a lot on events because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to give 100% of my energy thus meaning I wasn’t going to be “super fun”. But the fact that you are showing up and even if that’s with 70%, you still showed up and that is enough right there. 

8. Bail if it doesn’t serve you – Yup I said it – if after that gut check and one or more of those plans doesn’t serve you or maybe you got caught up in the moment and said yes at the time – when you really wanted to say no – you can say no and that is ok! You may feel guilty but show some self compassion for yourself because you know you did the right thing.

I hope this helps!!