An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving Return to Office

Before I began my career as a creative entrepreneur, I was a 9 to 5 office worker. I was a fortunate one, having worked in various organisations that have explored work from home options well before the pandemic hit.

It is worth noting a salient, often unacknowledged fact - that most office spaces these days cater to extroverts and neurotypical people. Modern open office layouts keep you in view of and within hearing of your colleagues at all times. It’s not a comfortable arrangement for anyone who prefers silence and isolation when working.

If it isn’t already clear, I work better in isolation. I am in fact a nightmare to curate a workspace for, with a comprehensive, unending list of things that bother me when working. It includes the movement of other people (distracting), human chatter (noisy), harsh lights (blinding), not being near a window (I can’t think), white walls (clinical) and not being alone (draining).

I also get bothered with meetings (they break my concentration), routines (uninspiring) and people standing behind me (I feel watched).

Over the years, I’ve found a few techniques that help me focus my mind and clear my thoughts in such situations, which thankfully has allowed me to function with some level of normalcy.

Walking

There is nothing more intuitive and calming than putting one foot in front of the other, step by step. Walking is a much needed reset for an overstimulated nervous system. I usually took a half an hour walk before work and an hour long walk after work to clear my mind. I also used lunch break to climb up the stairs up to my office (which was at one point on the 19th floor), to give myself a much-needed respite.

Timers

Especially good for those uninspired days, timers help break up your day into manageable chunks with the promise of a reward at the end of each chunk. For anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes, I focus on nothing but the task. Once the timer is up, I give myself a break to do whatever I feel like doing - it could be walking a little more, reading a book or playing Candy Crush. I do this until I feel ready to start on the task again, which usually takes around 10 minutes. The cycle repeats.

Peppermint or lavender oil

A drop on my clothes on the days I feel overwhelmed does wonders. While these oils do have a calming effect, it might be functioning as a a placebo in this case. Nevertheless, I’m not complaining.

Large headphones

Music or no music, I cannot emphasise how useful the sight of these are in ensuring you are left alone. I usually pair this with a frown while staring at the computer.

Retreat

A last ditch solution, but one that I feel absolutely no guilt for. This allows me to mimic working from home in the office space. The retreat could be a comfortable, quiet, unused meeting room, but the steps of a fire staircase also work when you’re desperate.