According to a BBC article, recent research has confirmed that alone time is good for your concentration, health, and creativity. Is anyone else not remotely surprised? Any introvert can tell you that spending time on your own is a necessity, particularly when it comes to creative pursuits.
As much as I enjoy spending time with friends, I seem to never be able to get any writing done when I do. Even if it’s only for a couple of hours, socializing drains me, leaving no energy to think, let alone create. I’m not advocating for isolation (unless that’s your thing), but the more time I spend being social, the more appealing the hermit lifestyle starts to look.
I’m always a little skeptical of people in creative fields who are extroverts. The extroverts I know are constantly on the run, always social, always busy. When do they find time to create? How do they focus? I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s difficult to picture someone coming home from a party and feeling inspired to do anything other than sleep it off.
I’m still trying to find a balance between spending time with the people I care about and getting the necessary solitude I need to create. Sometimes I wish texting counted as socializing, or that I could carry on a conversation while mentally working on a chapter or two. How about you–are you an introvert or extrovert? What helps or hinders your creativity? Share in the comments…
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
Originally posted on 19 March 2018
Aspasía S. Bissas 
I love the collective noun for a large group haha!
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Lol Thanks 🙂 It’s funny because it’s true 😉
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It is fascinating, isn’t it. Our minds are like a switch. When we are among friends we become a different person than we are when we’re alone.
I have to be alone to create. That part of me cannot exist without solitude. I’m beginning to realize I am not alone in this.
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No, I think writers/artists who need solitude to work are the majority. Finding a good balance between alone time and social time is something I’m still working on.
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I tend to be more of an introvert. Never thought of it but it’s true…lol
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Nothing wrong with that 🙂
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All who know me well would call me dual natured. On the one hand, I am an open armed extrovert able to speak to anyone, at any time. There is another side to me, however. Given my druthers, I would prefer to spend my time alone or with one other close person and, yes, I like being at home… my home… with my stuff. There are many reasons why I can connect with people, too many to go into here, but at my core, I like my little world.
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According to The Introvert Advantage (Marti Olsen Laney), an easy way to tell whether you’re introverted or extroverted is to think about how you cope with a stressful day. If it makes you feel better to go out and spend time with friends, you’re extroverted; if you’d rather stay home and have some alone time, you’re introverted. Either can enjoy going out or staying in sometimes, but what you do when you need to unwind shows which you are at your core. It’s an interesting read.
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Not sure that definition works for me. This may seem an odd way to describe it, but it’s like being bi-sexual. You aren’t really believed in by either side. I truly am both, an extrovert and an introvert. If you were to judge it only by stress, then I would indeed be an introvert by nature. However, that box highly limits who I am as a person. Give me a microphone and I will, comfortably, lead thousands. I can walk into a room and speak to anyone and everyone, It isn’t that I’m never nervous, but I enjoy connecting with people as an extrovert does.
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There was more to it than that, but that’s an easy way to tell if someone isn’t sure. I think the author would say it’s always a matter of degree (or a spectrum, if you prefer), and you happen to be more evenly balanced, but one side will prevail, if only slightly. Being that balanced seems ideal, though.
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