We all want to be the “yes” girl, the one with the thriving social life that’s jet-setting across the world taking in new experiences. But what if we changed the narrative around being social? This summer, we’re saying yes to things that fuel our social battery.
WHAT IS A SOCIAL BATTERY?
Your social battery is not a medical concept, but it is a convenient way for people to explain to others how social activities affect them. The size of a social battery varies among every one of us and different people prefer different activities to recharge.
If you consider yourself an extrovert, when you feel low, you may turn to social activities to make you feel good. If you’re an introvert, you prefer your alone time to recharge your social battery.
SIGN’S YOUR SOCIAL BATTERY IS DRAINED:
Chronic Fatigue: Research shows that social interactions extending over 3 hours can lead to post-socializing fatigue for some people. If you’re the type of person to book your weekends up, you may not even realize you’re in the middle of burnout until you’re hitting snooze every single morning.
You’re No Longer Enjoying Things You Once Did: Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert you may find yourself in the middle of an outing realizing “I do not want to be here anymore” (I think we’ve all experienced this before), you may even be thinking of excuses or ways to sneak out of your plans.
Detachment: You know around mid-week when friends start getting excited about their weekend plans? Your phone may start blowing up a bit more, and you find yourself replying “sorry I just saw this message!” a bit more than usual. This is a form of detachment we often use when we feel like we’re hitting a wall.
5 WAYS TO RECHARGE YOUR SOCIAL BATTERY:
Schedule Alone Time: Magic Mornings was created with the intention that even 10 minutes of alone time can help you make it through unmanageable moments throughout the day and give you something to look forward to if you feel overwhelmed. We created this blog post on ways to date yourself here. If you need to, set it as a reminder in your calendar.
Identify Your Triggers: Social burnout doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a collective of all the events social plans, and continuous scrolling that happens when we neglect our mental well-being. There are triggers that happen when leading up to burnout like irritability, exhaustion, hitting snooze, and loss of motivation. The quicker you can identify triggers, the easier it is to put yourself first.
Check Calendar First: Saying no can be difficult for everyone, one likes the feeling of letting someone down but we also don’t enjoy the feeling of resentment from saying yes too quickly. When we say yes (and really mean no) this puts us in a much more difficult situation later on when we’re scrambling to find last-minute excuses to say no. We recommend saying “Let me check my calendar first and get back to you” before locking in any concrete plans. This allows you to genuinely think about whether or not you want to attend any social events.
Practice Journaling: One study found that one month of journaling can result in fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety. Writing down how you feel can be a helpful and effective way to process your burnout and nail down what actually brings you joy. If you’re looking to start a stress-free journaling practice, try out our Magic Mornings Journal here.
Hide Your Social Media Apps: PSA: Social media is still a form of socializing. Your boundaries are still valid in the digital world. Scrolling on social media tends to put us in a state of FOMO (fear of missing out) hide your apps from your home page or put your phone on DND (do not disturb). You’re in control of when you respond to someone, give yourself space to thoughtfully respond VS react to notifications.
A lot of the time when we say yes, we’re doing so because we want to feel good. But feeling good also means resting, turning inward, and finding out what actually brings you joy (not what brings someone else joy)
Remember, if it’s not a 100% yes, it’s a no.
Looking for more advice on creating a personalized wellness practice that works for you? Sign up for our latest MAGIC workbook here. (Yes, it’s free!)
Love,
The Magic Team
Comments (0)