In my business, every day is different. There’s writing, one-on-one client sessions via video and in-person, corporate workshops, email exchanges and business planning sessions.

Then, there’s the one variable in my day that raises its grade from productive to inspiring. For this mostly extroverted woman—that critical element is connection.

While I have grown to gravitate more towards my quiet time in recent years, I know my own recipe for feeling energized and grounded in something bigger than me is contained within conversations, collaborations and in listening deeply to another human’s perspective.
It took a couple of years for me to accept this information about myself, so early on in my business I spent many days drained, distracted and bewildered as to why I couldn’t get enough done when I had hours of allotted time.

I thought back to my corporate roles, to the times I would stare at a document all day, and the moments when I wanted to bang my head against the screen. At those times, I naturally stepped away from my laptop and went to invite a colleague to coffee or pop by the cube of someone else who looked like she needed a chat.

And it worked every time.

I was re-energized, refueled and able to forge forward with the task at hand. Now, four plus years in, I’ve happily infused my workday with these connection breaks.

It can look like:

A networking conversation with a colleague.

A mentoring chat with a new coach.

Lunch, coffee or a walk in the park with a friend.

A phone date with my California besties.

Or when I can’t get a hold of my real friends, I need to rely on those making significant audio contributions to my life. Sam Sanders, Krista Tippet, Oprah and Teri Gross, I’m looking at you! 

I once used my connection breaks as a reward for completing the tasks at hand, whether emailing, writing or building out workshop materials. But now, I’m finding a way to leverage the energy I get from my conversations and collaborations within my work. This inevitably reminds me of my gratitude for the freedom I have to be in control of my time, follow my own rhythm and listen to my intuition about how to structure my day. It’s a routine I’ve designed that allows me to be me AND be my most productive because of it.