Daily post prompt: Recharge

I thought I’d try something a little different today, and respond to a daily prompt (this one is via this post: Daily Prompt: Recharge). Since this is a writing blog and not just a write-about-whatever-is-happening-in-your-life blog, I’ll link it back to writing and publishing. 

For those of us who are trying to get into, or just starting out in the publishing industry, there is this impetus to be always always always working, always producing content, always networking and always building your professional skills. It’s a competitive industry, and you have to make your self stand out in order to get anywhere. However, as I’m coming to realize more and more, this can be exhausting.

Despite the clichéd image of the introverted bookworm, there is huge pressure to be always putting yourself “out there” in the book world. I’ve never been the most ambitious or extroverted person, but this past year has taught (if I was feeling less charitable I’d say ‘forced’) me to be exactly those things: driven, hardworking and passionate about pretty much all aspects of the book industry.

So I’ve had to come up with ways to recharge that I never needed before, which can take the form of anything from cooking an intricate meal to taking a warm bath to fixing something around the house or making something with my hands. I’m still learning to set aside my “idleness guilt” when I do these things (again, there’s that pressure on writers and industry novices to be always creating and working on things directly related to the industry) but now, more than ever, I find that these relaxing moments are really important to me.

I have a feeling there are people out there so “extroverted” (I think introvert/extrovert is a false dichotomy, but that’s a post for another day) that they find tasks like networking relaxing, but it’s hard to imagine. So how do all of you ‘recharge’? Do you even need to? I’d love to hear the thoughts of other writers or publishers, or even people in other high-energy industries!