My Introvert Life Archives - Tim and Olive's Blog

My Introvert Life: In Marriage

[My Introvert Life is a series exploring my introversion as it presents itself in various life contexts.]

When people find out I’m an introvert, the most common question is, “So what is Tim? An introvert or an extrovert?” Well, we tell them, on the sliding scale of introversion/extroversion, Tim is more extroverted than I am, but not an extreme extrovert. He will still need down time at home, but definitely not as much as I need it. He starts to get restless if he doesn’t get out of the house at least once a day. Whereas I can go four days without leaving our apartment and not notice it! (Ok, by day four, I am restless too.)

My Introvert Life: As a Single

[My Introvert Life is a series exploring my introversion as it presents itself in various life contexts.]

I have a confession: as a single person, I struggled immensely with accepting my introverted needs. “Sorry, I need to hang out by myself tonight,” didn’t exactly sound cool, you know? Mercifully, when I was in school, I had a lot of art classes, which allowed me to work in relative silence on my own. And for most of my single years, I had the energy of youth on my side, so I could get away with hopping from one event to another without having to give it much thought. For a while, anyway.

My Introvert Life: The Postpartum Weeks

[My Introvert Life is a series exploring my introversion as it presents itself in various life contexts.]

When I was pregnant, I suspected that having a child would profoundly impact the way I functioned and cared for myself as an introvert. Having less or virtually no “me” time was a given. I prepared myself for that. I told myself that it would just be a season and that in time, I would be able to find a new rhythm. I was right on that count.

My Introvert Life

Hello there! Welcome to this series called My Introvert Life.

On the vast continuum between Introversion and Extroversion, I happen to be on the far introvert end of the spectrum. By definition, being introverted means I gain my energy from being alone. Activities such as sleeping, painting, reading and writing are all solitary endeavours that recharge my soul. The Introvert/Extrovert dynamic is only one part of what makes up my personality, but it plays a pretty significant role in my understanding of myself and how I carry about my life. That’s why I think it’s a worthwhile endeavour to take a closer look at it.