I’ve been doing a little introspection on my work habits lately and I’ve noticed how they differ in different settings.

For instance, I’m starting to find that in many cases, I would rather walk over to a local expert in my office than search for what I’m looking for on Google. The local expert is usually within my vicinity, many times in the same room, but Google is always right there, right at my computer. My question is: Am I a technical extrovert — a fancy name for a social butterfly in a field of (stereotypically) moths; or am I habitually lazy, consistently bugging the person who knows?

I would rationalize myself as an extrovert, and it turns out Myers-Briggs would too. But lazy?

Some habits at work are:

• Ask someone before searching Google.
• Walk to the person who will know the answer rather than talk over AIM or IRC.
• Talk to people in meetings (or spontaneously create them) instead of use email.
• Take notes on paper because I will forget many of my coworker’s “quick fixes,” like what command to use, or how to use it.

Put those in contrast with my habits at home:

• Google my error messages extensively.
• Research how to solve my specific task.
• Try out my hypotheses or find examples.
• In many ways, learn by doing.

And put that in contrast with my undergraduate career:

• Remember every word the professor said, taking notes that I probably won’t read.
• Learn by doing, especially when given specific homework assignments.

Is the difference in behavior the time pressure of the work environment? The effect of having knowledgeable people directly in my vicinity? An attribute of my extroversion? The result of having an authority figure?

I don’t know. And whatever it is, it’s ingrained, because I don’t think about it — or, I have to work to think about it when in context. But maybe that’s why they call it work.

Regardless. It’s clear I’d rather walk and talk than sit and research.