I am the worst at hiding in my office and working over lunch. Yes, we all have lots of work to do and not enough hours in the day to get it done. Why should 2019 be any exception? I should spend more time out of my office. Some would call it socializing, some would call it networking. Whatever you call it, getting out has got to be better for me than staring out the window (I know, at least I have a window).

With you as my witnesses, I have decided to get out regularly and have lunch or coffee with someone in my workplace. We all have to eat or caffeinate, right? There are over 1,400 employees where I work and I know at least a 10% of them, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Would it kill me if once every so often I had lunch with a colleague instead of never? There might actually be some benefits. A quick Google search tells me that if I network I can learn from colleagues, get “in the know” instead of staying “in the dark” (which can be comfortable, I know!), and just make life a little more social. Some would even say one could find a job this way. Imagine!

I started out small, getting out once in January,  and I’ll work my way up to once a week by the end of the semester. If you tend to recluse yourself like I do because there is so much to do (and write), I challenge you to do the same. If you want to be held accountable, send me an email and tell me you are taking me up on the networking challenge. I will respond. Then, when I see you at the annual TAA Conference in June, which, by the way, is a great place to network, you can let me know how it went for you and I will let you know how it went for me.

Have a great start to your year and I look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia! Learn more and register for the 2019 TAA Conference.