My default state is quiet. I rarely listen to music while I work, unless I need to make it easier to ignore background conversations. I often find one-on-one conversations awkward. I like group conversations because other people can tell stories or ask questions, and I can dip into or out of the conversation when I want. So Hacklab tends to work for me, since there are occasionally good group conversations there, and people are friends with each other.

2014-10-06 Sometimes – often – I don't feel like making conversation

I started to write a blog post about preparing for winter, something along the lines of being less social because of the activation costs of having to put on coats and take the subway instead of the bike. But I started looking at the numbers from my time tracking (counting both business-related and social non-family connecting time), and I've actually been less social in summer. I suppose it makes sense – meetups go on hiatus, people have other plans, and I'm off enjoying quiet time gardening or biking.

So maybe this fall and winter will be more social after all. Maybe I'll make it out to Hacklab once or twice a week, and maybe I'll start checking out meetups again. It's good to practice connecting with people in person — although it's certainly quite tempting to stay home, too. I have the sneaky suspicion that these online conversations might even be more worthwhile and longer-lasting. Still, there's time to experiment with things, so why not?