We caught up with Francesca Specter, founder of Alonement, to talk all things from changing the way people think about alone time, to launching season 2 of her podcast…
Tell us about Alonement
Specter: Alonement is a platform and podcast centred around the time you spend alone and why it matters. I have a website and a weekly newsletter, together with a podcast where I interview high-profile thinkers, writers and media personalities – from Alain de Botton to Konnie Huq – about their alone time.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Specter: It began with a personal journey. At the end of 2018, I found myself newly single and living alone for the first time in my life. As a sociable extrovert, I had always felt energised by being around other people and never thought to question the fear and reluctance I felt around alone time. Yet, I began to realise there was something insidious about perpetually trying to escape a state that, really, no one can escape from.
In a bid to correct this, I made a new year’s resolution to learn to be alone, and like it, in January 2019. It ended up being the most meaningful lesson I learnt in my whole life – and in the autumn of 2019 I decided to use my skills as a journalist, writer and podcaster to share this with the world.
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Why is it important for people to enjoy the time they spend alone?
Specter: I know from my personal journey that spending quality time alone has had immense benefits in terms of personal development (confidence, career, self-esteem, mental health) together with my relationships with others. It soon became apparent, during this journey, that many, many people are scared of being alone – and in avoiding it miss out on the benefits of solitude, while making major life decisions driven by a place of fear (e.g. staying in the wrong relationship for fear of being single – something wrongly but regularly conflated with ‘being alone’ – or never taking a solo trip somewhere on their bucket list)
I also realised there was no word in the English language to describe the opposite of loneliness; when alone time is positive and regenerative. So, I trademarked the word ‘alonement’ to fill that gap.
What can we hope to see from Alonement in the future?
Specter: I am currently mid-way through releasing season 2 of the Alonement podcast. I am also working on a larger writing project – watch this space!
For more information, visit: www.alonement.com
