Kevin Has Alone Time

​When individuals just need space...

There are moments where Kevin disappears to have his "own time" or he conveniently turns his back to the world.  Perhaps this is his time to reflect.  I am not going to presume what he is pondering - his distaste for his new kitty food, or why his litterbox is getting too full, or fantasizing about his heroic efforts of fighting not just one but two antagonistic Magpies that bait him mercilessly from outside his glass prison.  Maybe to cats, humans really are inferior and he is mocking our constant stupidity.

​There are times in the office that we want to or need to, turn our own backs on the buzzing day-to-day.  With the intensity of data entering our brains as we enter through the imaginary field of information that surrounds work environment, we have occasions where it can be quite enough.  Or if we have a deadline, the undivided attention required to complete the task accurately and effectively is fierce.  This focused introverted time can be mistaken for indifference, irritability, or anti-social behaviour when this solitude is a coping mechanism to get work done or to get organized.

Respecting an individual's need to complete their work uninterrupted, or letting them have the time to be immersed in thinking, is a necessity in productive teams.  In professional and specific non-professional work places, we are paid to think.  In a society that requires tangible product to quantify if you have done any work or not, it is hard to see where "thinking" can be a billable rate on a client invoice.  Several individuals thinking and working will produce a deliverable, but the time "thinking" isn't always factored into the workplan.  

Alone time can be contemplation time.  Those with busy home lives or other responsibilities than what is in the office, use work to help keep the mind active and distracted.  Mundane tasks can be done when the information overload has hit a maximum and there is a need to stop the insanity - recharge the brain cells.

​Too much alone time can have negative consequences. If the feeling of being alone leads to alienation at work or at home, and hopelessness sets in, then it is the time to seek help.  A project leader or team members are responsible to watch for behaviour that seems uncharacteristic and discuss the issue with the office leaders.  Even when we feel alone, there are millions of others feeling alone at the same time, so you are really not alone.  If there wasn't such a fear of being alone, social media wouldn't be as big as it is.

​An hour passes and Kevin comes over to me where I am sitting and puts his paw on my leg.  This is his sign that he has thought about what to write next and he is back to pushing our deadline.