The Introvert and The Plan

I just had an amazing meeting with The Potsdam Lions Club.  We were on-time (early, even!), we were on-point (lots of spirited debate about relevant issues and ideas), and we had an amazing venue (the second floor of the BTB in town--opulent, and huge).

Introverts usually don't get that lucky with meetings...the main issue is increased social interaction, with variable relevance of topics, in an enclosed (and filled) space.

One of the reasons I have limited patience for meetings (in general, no specific brand/type/kind) is that we spend so much time planning.  But we don't just plan.  We plan to have plans.  We discuss the specific methods by which we can plan our plans.  All of this maximizes face time with other people, and exhausts an Introvert to the point of distraction.  Which...well...isn't conducive to planning.  I am a Doer from a long line of Doers.  Don't get me wrong---I understand the need for meetings, and the need for common procedures.  Without limitations and expectations, planning would never lead to a good plan for Doing.  However, the sheer volume of time spent on the plan to Plan to Do is what drives my inner Introvert absolutely bonkers.  I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in feeling this way.

The love-hate relationship between the Introvert and the Plan involves logistics other people don't usually have to consider.  The hours spent in debate aren't uncomfortable because of the debating.  They are uncomfortable because the ratio of area of the meeting room to the number of people in the meeting is undesirable (with very few exceptions). We prefer to meet in open spaces and to minimize the time spent in meeting in order to get to the activities we know we still need to do.

Be kind to your Introverts in the workforce.  Keep the meetings on-point and on-schedule, and you'll see minimal twitching from your Introvert.