Working out loud…..opportunities for an introvert in social media? (Nowhere to hide in the COVID induced online work spaces)

My present enthusiasms include doing (again, it is simply that good) the Harold Jarche course on personal knowledge management, PKM in 40 days , and reconnecting the concept of working out loud.

This is challenging, as the introvert in me screams for this process to be internalised, and screams for a completing of the work before it is shared.  Small talk stresses me out, so the thought of working out load is scary.  It’s easier for me to talk about the complete picture, not the work in progress.  Working with people and in groups drains the energy from me.  I sense a loss of control over my thoughts…I am just not good at thinking out load. And this is really challenging in the digitally-connected, online work environment that COVID-19 has imposed on us – you can’t really take time out and hope to keep up – you either engage in every moment or you lose the sense of things (and you don’t know who is actually looking at you!) The introvert in me didn’t anticipate that.

So, working out loud in the social media might offer some great opportunities…I can put my ideas out in the hope that others can help improve them without…well, without having to be social.  Really? Well, it is really a different way to been social than the (team meeting, or face-to-face, or the social gathering) online meetings.

With social media, I can control the level of interaction and the pace of engagement.  I can create the space I need to recharge the batteries.

I guess I can still be social…work out load…and not raise my anxiety too much. Thus create some time and space for ideas to develop.

This will be (fun) (interesting) (scary) …..sort of like throwing caution to the wind….being vulnerable….learning….

Learning? ……… Acceptable risk

4 Replies to “Working out loud…..opportunities for an introvert in social media? (Nowhere to hide in the COVID induced online work spaces)”

  1. I followed you here from the #pkmastery Twitter feed. I feel exactly the same way about this sharing., but I learned how to do it and no doubt you will get better. I am taking Harold Jarche’s course right now, too, and one motto I keep in front of me is this one: put yourself out there. Here is an example of how I took that to heart: rebrand.ly/oh9nshu

    Perhaps you can set up a space that is clearly only for this kind of thinking out loud. Perhaps it can be an anonymous space? Just…thinking out loud here.

  2. Although not an introvert – feel isolated very quickly. My fear of judgement is a great preventer when it comes to sharing work in progress. I have been struggling with my blogging, and have fallen behind a bit with Harold’s programme. All this then creates a miasma of anxiety, which causes a grinding halt to me doing anything. Seeing your post has given me a bit of a prod to ‘get back to it’ so thank-you Shaun.

    1. Thanks David. I often limit myself by wondering about what others might think of my writing. And that is a block. I remind myself that I largely write to help me make sense of my own ideas…If others find that useful then it is a bonus

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