When I commit, I go all the way. All in. This was true for me for a long time. Not saying it isn´t anymore, I just ruminate longer before commiting now! I guess this extreme responsibility characteristic is what got me through my corporate career life. I spent 14+ years in a multi-national company, 10 of which went by without my knowing why was I so easily overwhelmed. Why hunger would not let me think straight. Why I needed more bio breaks than most of my co-workers during long closed-doors-meetings. Why open space was such an issue for my concentration. Why I enjoyed the early deserted hours at the office and despiced rush hours! Shall I carry on?

By trial & error at first, and later on by owning my SPS (Sensory Processing Sensitivity) trait, I was able, to actually enjoy most of my business corporate work days. I could

connect with the zest of the job, the intellectual challenge. As I grew up, so did the flexible work policies… I was mocked at for using the flex work benefits to their complete extent! 😛 As a Highly Sensitive Person (the trait’s scientific term is SPS), I am part of a roughly 15-20% of the population that is easily overwhelmed by stimuli, due to very high & deep perception, preferring to process slowly, stressed by loud noises or strong smells or the sum of too much stimuli. So, how did I survive the corporate life? Managing much more than people and businesses! These are my 3 keys to survive: Manage energy, manage environment & manage conversations. All of which can only be achieved by PLANNING ahead!

1. Manage Energy.

YOUR energy. We can discuss how to manage others´ energy in a different post (what I call Tai Chi-ing). Energy never dissapears. The first law of thermodynamics states it can’t be created or destroyed. It can only change forms. It comes and we feel energetic, happy, capable, probably more corageous and able to think and act upon. When it leaves, well, it´s ugly, uncomfortable to say the least. Like a balloon losing air (and let´s hope it loses it gradually versus exploding, which is like a felt when breaking down at times). Guess what? YOUR ENERGY IS MANAGEABLE. As manageable as frizz-free hair, but much more likely!

I guess to a certain degree, this is true for everyone, but more so for introvert HSPs: The need for quiet time to recharge. Although many HSPs are extroverts (~30%) meaning they are energized by interacting with people, many more are introverts, like myself, needing to be alone (or with very few people we know well) to re-charge. Here lies the key. Managing energy means YOU need to decide when, where, whom with, what for, how much to invest and, most importantly, how will you keep fresh energy coming your way.

Remember energy takes up different forms, so we will have to asses all of the following items in our lives to be really managing it: Sleep, food, time. I will leave money out this, for now.

Sleeping Enough.

I can´t stress strong enough how important this is. Believe me I know what a sleep-deprived person is, as a mom to a poor sleeper toddler! High sensitivity means falling and staying asleep is actually harder than norm, yet getting 7+ hours each day is non-negotiable. Even if you feel your are “missing out” on something. Just turn off the screens, put off that next episode, and close your eyes. Your nervous system will highly appreciate it. A good clean-cut for this is to add 1 more hour during two weeks, this will re-charge you. Try it out.

Food. For Thought.

Are you particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine? Being very hungry creates a strong reaction in you, disrupting your concentration or mood? These are just a couple of questions used to self-test your sensitivity, according to Dr Aron. What we drink and eat will fuel or erode our power, physical, mental and, allow me to entertain the idea that, it will also affect our emotions and spiritual connection. Actually, everything vibrates at a given frequency, the higher, the better to energize (which can also mean feeling more grounded and calm). “Cluttering your physical body with sugar, nicotine, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, pesticides, preservatives, heavy foods, greasy foods, and so on, lowers your frequency.” (Margaret Paul). THE BASIC STEP HERE IS TO MAKE TIME AND STOP TO EAT, AND DRINK WATER. You need to have breakfast. Skipping lunch is not an option. Carrying healthy snacks is key to keeping you concentration throughout meetings and not getting home completely famished. Be the water bottle person. I prefer metal or glass (plastic smells).

Setting Time Boundaries.

Setting boundaries is always hard, right? Especially if these are for your well-being. You may feel selfish, or even accused of this. You will need to learn to cope with others judging what they wish they could do for themselves and are unable to at the moment. Let me share a personal note on this… At a pretty early point in my career, I started applying the “hard stop” policy to leave the office at what I called a “healthy” time, to be able to accommodate activities that nourished me. I was not a mom at the time, lived on my own, didn´t even own a dog! I had graduated recently, so, actually, to the many very busy majority, I had “nothing” to go to rather than work my ass off. Nevertheless, I would pick up my things and leave. My boss at the time (who is now one of my closest friends) would usually comment on this. Don´t get me wrong, nothing like harassment, it was more like a pseudo-funny approach on how she could not leave, and she had small children, and how lucky I was. Truth told? I would implode eeevery time. I was an early bird, got very early to the office (to benefit of the silence). So I kept thinking over and over again all I would love to say to her to justify my leaving at 6ish. I never did. I would have complete conversations in my head, which never happened. Many years went by, and one day, not sure how, she suddenly recalled the old days, telling someone else how I would just leave “on time”. It was then when she developed the complete review: she was actually admiring me! She wished and wanted not to have my life, but to have my determination to be as neat and caring for helself. She eventually did, excelled at it, I must say. Bottomline is: define your hours and stick to them. Let the long hours at the office be the exception and not the rule. Set time (yes! in your calendar! Book YOURSELF if needed) for the hours you are NOT working, for lunch, or any other energy management you choose. As a working-breast-feeding-mom for example, you will need to book those pumping hours as well. If YOU don´t set boundaries, you will be left to the will of the demands of business and others, which by now you may know that are n-e-v-e-r-e-n-d-i-n-g.

Because I know HSPs are also Highly Responsible People, I do not need to explain how this Energy management Policy will never make you lazy or under-performers, you are just choosing how to better empower yourself with some of the basic human needs 🙂

2. Manage (Your) Working Environment. Even if it´s within an open space office.

Brigth cold lights. Loud noise. Too many noises getting mixed up. The printer. Informal meeting in the hallway. Someone speaking on their phone. Some else listening to music. Not to mention the various alerts on everyone´s devices. Seriously, how can anyone expect us to concentrate? I truly admire those who can benefit from a noisy, crowded working environment. I would always look for empty huddle meeting rooms, or stay in the empty cafeteria after breakfast, just to build my “working cocoon”. I was lucky to get a cubicle next to a window that overlooked some trees, but not eveyone is so lucky. So, my advice is to manage your own working environment, given you are not granted the benefit of working from home! Take care of the light, both surrounding you and coming from your screen. Get yourself some noise-cancelling headphones. Recreate nature if you do not have access to a window that does it for you. Get yourself the most comfortable chair you need. Even if you have to pay for it yourself. As comfy as it gets… My #1 advice is to turn off alerts, start your day with the important vs. urgent matters on minds and paper, connect your agenda to serve these objectives, and turn off the chat and/or phone. The less the merrier in this case.

Handling your ergonomics and not waiting on your employer to do it for you, is a way of turning into the more fulfilled person you seek to be in your job.

3. Manage Conversations.

lanning down time, suspending conversations with others for a while, is very very powerful. Silence. Listening to oneself think ♥. It is NECESSARY for highly sensitive persons. No need to go telling everyone you work with about this, I always preferred to keep them private, make these spaces MY SAFE PLACES, whether they were physical (i.e.. sitting in the car for a while, or, yes, over a closed toilet!) or mental. In order to manage conversations you first need to evaluate how many hours can you be going, working, feeling centered. Do not judge. For some it´s just a short period, maybe less than an hour! For others it adds up to 2-3hs. For me, it depends on the activity. If I am leading a meeting or presentation, I can keep up for around 1 to maximum 2 hours, and the higher the adrenaline, the longer quiet period I will need after that. >>> Meaning no booking your agenda with more than 1 stressful event per day, even per week if this takes much preparation. Choosing the day is also helpful. I always preferred Thursdays, so I had enough week days to elaborate (versus my precious weekend) and had Friday left to take it down several notches after a job well done. GO ON AND BOOK YOURSELF your quiet moment after stretches of concentration or high interaction at work. Examples of these may vary from doing something reactive yet productive such as scanning your inbox (while listening to soft music on your headphones) or actually going out for a short walk. Or prepare yourself some tea, go fetch water, go to the toilet. Better if you can close your eyes for a while and BREATH. Take a step away from the rush.