Give Networking 10 Minutes
A smaller way to reconnect when you don’t have the bandwidth for more.
“I should reach out to someone this week.”
Does that thought ever cross your mind?
Then you think about who to contact.
Then what to say.
Then whether they’ll respond.
Then whether you’ll need to schedule a call.
Then whether the call will lead to another follow-up.
Then whether you have the energy to keep the whole thing going.
And suddenly, one small message feels like a second job.
If that sounds familiar, you might be an Energy Guard.
(BTW - If you want to find out your networking type, I created a FREE quiz to help you out!)
Energy Guards don’t avoid networking because they dislike people.
They avoid networking because it feels like one more thing they have to do.
One more task.
One more relationship to maintain.
One more thing on a list that already feels too long.
The fear isn’t:
“I’m bad at networking.”
The fear is:
“If I start, networking becomes one more thing I have to do.”
The good news is I have a solution for your fear…
This issue takes about 5 minutes to read.
This is issue #204 of The Introverted Networker.
Last week, I shared a tool called bwak.news.
Some of you tried, but some of you may have missed it.
If you read a lot of newsletters, I’d love for you to check this out.
It gives me one place to read all my newsletters without clogging up my email inbox.
bwak.news gives those newsletters their own place to live.
If you subscribe to a lot of newsletters and your inbox has become a terrible place to read them, take a look.
You can check it out here:
The Energy Guard
Energy Guards often say things like:
“I don’t have time.”
“I don’t have the bandwidth.”
“I can’t keep up with networking while working.”
“Interacting with new people exhausts me.”
“By the time I reach there, it feels too much.”
That last line matters.
It doesn’t say:
“I don’t want to.”
It says:
“It feels too much.”
That’s the Energy Guard’s challenge.
They want relationships.
They want conversations.
They want connection.
But the energy required to meet new people, get comfortable, follow up, and keep the relationship going can make the whole thing feel bigger than it needs to be.
So they hesitate.
And when they hesitate, they don’t act.
There’s Nothing Wrong With You
If you’re an Energy Guard, your problem isn’t that you don’t care about people.
You probably care a lot.
You may be thoughtful about who you spend time with.
You may prefer deeper conversations over surface-level ones.
You may want connection to feel natural, not forced.
You may not want to build a giant network just to say you have one.
That’s not a weakness.
That’s part of your superpower.
Your superpower is Sustainable Connection.
You know your energy has limits.
You know relationships take attention.
You don’t want to start something you can’t maintain.
That instinct can protect you from burnout.
But it can also keep you from taking the first step.
The Problem
Energy Guards often make networking bigger than it has to be.
They think networking means:
Reaching out to a bunch of people.
Scheduling coffee chats.
Attending events.
Following up with everyone.
Keeping track of dozens of relationships.
No wonder it feels exhausting.
If that’s what networking is, of course you don’t have the bandwidth.
But networking doesn’t have to start there.
It can start with one message.
One person.
One small reconnection.
One moment where you remind someone you exist and ask what’s new in their world.
That’s it.
You don’t have to commit to a lifetime of follow-up.
You don’t have to build a complete networking plan.
You only have to make the next step small enough to take.
A Real-Life Story
I was giving a presentation recently where I was teaching The Connection Loop.
At one point, I told the group to send a message to someone they hadn’t talked to in a while.
One participant didn’t wait.
While I was still talking, she opened her texts, found someone, and sent the message.
Before I was even done presenting, she had already received a response.
She was surprised by how easy it was.
Not because the message was perfect.
Not because she had a complicated strategy.
Not because she had blocked off an hour to “network.”
She did one small thing right away.
And because she did it in that short window, she didn’t have time to turn it into a whole project.
That’s the lesson.
Sometimes the way to make networking easier is to give yourself less time, not more.
When you give yourself unlimited time, you can overthink everything.
When you give yourself 10 minutes, you have to keep it simple.
And simple is what makes the action possible.
Make It Smaller
If you’re an Energy Guard, the goal is not to network more.
The goal is to make networking smaller.
Smaller means you can start.
Smaller means you can stop.
Smaller means the action doesn’t drain your whole day.
This matters because Energy Guards often think they need to feel ready before they act.
But momentum usually comes after the action.
You send one message.
Someone responds.
The conversation feels easier than expected.
You remember that connection doesn’t always take as much energy as you thought.
That doesn’t mean networking will never feel tiring.
It means the next step may be lighter than the story you’ve built around it.
Your First Step
This week, give networking 10 minutes.
Not an hour.
Not an afternoon.
Not a new system.
Just 10 minutes.
Pick one person you already know.
Someone you liked talking to.
Someone you haven’t checked in with recently.
Someone who would be happy to hear from you.
Send one message.
Then stop.
That’s the whole assignment.
You’re not trying to rebuild your entire network.
You’re not trying to schedule a call with everyone you know.
You’re proving to yourself that connection can be smaller than you thought.
Because networking doesn’t have to be one more thing that drains you.
It can be one small action that reminds you relationships are still there.
And sometimes, 10 minutes is enough to begin again.
Best Things I Found Online This Week:
I mentioned it earlier, but check out my Networking Types Quiz and leave me a comment to tell me which type you are!