Sharing – If You Want to Build Community, You Have to “Waste Time” with People

This is interesting from a personal and professional standpoint:

For many people, pausing can feel impossible when you’re working hard just to make ends meet. But even small moments of connection can matter. Just 10–15 minutes of unhurried conversation or shared presence can help calm the body’s stress response and give our nervous system a chance to reset.

https://vivekmurthy.substack.com/p/if-you-want-to-build-community-you

I work from home, so most of my time with other people is structured toward goals. I try not to make all of the time that way, though, and one of the nice things about this past week, as I made office visits to spend time with my team members, was the opportunity to take them to lunch and have a very unstructured conversation. Did we talk about work during part of that? Of course, but we also talked about our families, hobbies, the local area, etc.

Am I exhausted after visiting three offices in three cities in three days? Absolutely. Not just because of the travel, that’s also a lot of socializing for me. But it was worth taking some steps toward building community with my team.

The pity is that I prioritize this so little in my personal life. I’m constantly trying to “squeeze” in time with friends between work and other interests, and then wondering why my sense of personal community seems so lost. I think what Dr. Murthy talks about is part of it. I don’t think about time in this way. I’m always trying to maximize the time I spend with people, instead of just being with them.

The irony, of course, is how often I write about the best way to help people struggling with healing and mental health issues – just be with them. Yet, I don’t seem to realize how important it is to just be with our people regardless of what’s going on in their lives.

Can you make more time to just be with people?