The Exploring Introvert with Mariella Franker, PhD

Unexpected news this week. For this Sept update, I'm coming live to you from Suriname after hearing that my father is ill. When you're a cross-cultural introvert and you live abroad, these situations are tough.🧭 Sign up for Exploring Introvert newsletter: ⁠thefrankermessage.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠ 📍 Visit my website: ⁠⁠thefrankermessage.com⁠ ⁠📧 Email me: ⁠contact@thefrankermessage.com⁠ ) 🔗 Fi...

In this intimate monthly update, I'm sharing the evolution of my coaching practice and this podcast as we head into summer. While I'll be taking a podcast break in August, I'm excited to continue working with clients and developing new programs that better serve our community of thoughtful explorers. Last month's Habit Building Basics taster sessions revealed how powerful it is when introverts bui...

Hi there, explorers! This month has been all about getting things ready for the Habit Building Basics Tasters that are happening next week. Most of my time working hours has been going towards that. You can sign up here: ⁠ https://go.thefrankermessage.com/welcometobacktobasics⁠ On a personal note, we're doing some small renovations and it's pretty messy in our home. Our son has a tent goin...

** If you found this podcast helpful, please share it with a friend! I'll be super grateful and your friend will be happy that you thought of them too 🤗 ** In today’s podcast episode we’re talking specifically about cross-cultural introverts. What’s a cross-cultural introvert? A cross-cultural introvert is an introvert who navigates multiple cultural. They’re people who move between cultures...

Breaking a Bad Habit: An Introvert's Journey from Social Media Exhaustion to Mindful Language Learning Ever found yourself doom scrolling through social media when you're exhausted, only to feel more drained afterward? As an introvert and certified habit coach, I discovered one day that I was spent 6 hours on Instagram reels. It was a wake up call! What started as a way to "relax&quot...

Too busy or too tired? Here are 4 habits to stay sane. Here’s a question that I get all the time: what habits do you focus on when things are really hectic and you have no time? This month has been just that, so I thought I’d take you on a walk today and we can talk about it. What has made this month so hectic is that I’ve taken on a project that I knew from the start was going to be a difficult p...

January was a hectic month for 3 reasons: 1) My partner moved his gym to a new location, 2) We started the year off with a very sick little boy, 3) I worked on aligning The Exploring Introvert. Despite needing to clear my schedule for part of the month to care for our kid and to manage logistics at home with the gym move, I made good progress. The new home page of my website is out ( have a look h...

Between the busy-ness of the Christmas Holidays, my partner getting injured and a big (first time) project for my business, this one is full of ups and downs. In this podcast, I tell you about what has been happening behind the scenes in my business, why I was absent from the podcast for 3 months and the lessons I’ve learned. You’ll also learn how you can get exclusive behind the scenes access to...

I’ve been a bit absent from the podcast but a lot has been happening behind the scenes. A short chapter today to update you on what’s been going on and what’s coming for the podcast. We’re talking about one word that ties this community of introverts together and the NEW NAME OF THE PODCAST! We’re also taking on a new format for the podcast: fewer but more regular updates once a month. New monthly...

Taking longer periods of time off from work has been a long standing dream of mine. I never thought it would be possible for me and I was always happy to get the rare 2 weeks off per year. Usually, I barely felt refreshed after 2 weeks off and the cycle would start again. When I started my coaching business, I realized that I had the opportunity to make this dream a reality. I decided that if I re...

After a 2 months break, we are kicking off season 4! This podcast chapter takes a look back. I'm sharing clips from the two most popular chapters from last season. These chapters are all about energy and energy management for introverts. From a personal perspective, struggles with an energy rollercoaster for a long time led me to believe that I was just "sickly" and "couldn'...

This podcast episode is a bit different from the usual chapters. I’m doing a life update today. I’m going to share with you what’s been going on in my business, offers that I’m working on, and what’s coming up for the podcast. This is the final chapter of Season 3 as I'm taking a 2-month break over the Summer. I'll be back mid September with the first chapter of Season 4!Thank you all so m...

Today, we’re talking about another common habit bottleneck: the chaotic routine. This is a familiar one. Probably everyone can recognize the feeling of having a really chaotic day. Your day is running away from you and you feel like you you’re a side character in a dramatic play that you didn’t audition for. Usually, at the end of the day, you’re exhausted and even though you may have done a lot o...

Maybe you’ve experienced this before: You were doing well with your healthy habits but now things just feel hard. You start skipping a day. Then another day. Then another day. You start to feel guilty. You start slipping back into old patterns and unhealthy habits you wanted to change. It’s probably not the first time this has happened either and you start wondering what’s wrong with you and why y...

When I decided to coach introverts working from home specifically around healthy habits, I thought I had a good idea of what a habit is. But as I started to talk about this with people, I realized that there are many different ways that people think about habits and that I really didn’t understand what habits are as well as I thought I did. After working with 1-1 clients as a productivity coach fo...

Have you ever noticed that after a meal, you feel really tired and sleepy? I used to think that this was just normal and that you feel sleepy after eating because your body was digesting food. I also thought that feeling tired all the time was just what it was for me because I was an introvert and therefore I just had less energy than more extroverted people. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It tu...

We all know that sleep is important. If you don’t get enough sleep, it impairs your mental ability, your ability to learn and remember things, it affects your mood and your body’s metabolism and immune system. I got a request to talk about how to sleep better without sleeping more. So, let’s talk about that today! I’ve had my share of sleep issues too. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I strug...

There are a lot of studies that show that the placebo effect is real. “Fake” treatments can actually make you feel better. Interestingly, they can also make you feel worse. The nocebo effect is also real. Is this all just perception? Is it the power of the mind? Or is there something else going on? ▶️ Join Productive Introvert Letters for weekly insights from a certified habit coach for introverte...

In today’s chapter, we’re talking about time blocking. We’re diving into how to make a plan for your day to help you stay focused and energized, especially if you’re an introvert. If you're interested in time management, or if you're struggling with procrastination, you might find time blocking helpful. Time blocking is like making a plan for your day. You plan your day by setting aside ce...

This week we’re talking about dopamine. I feel that there's a bit of confusion about this topic. Maybe you’re wondering what does dopamine do? How does dopamine make you happy? How can I increase my dopamine? And is too much dopamine bad for you? It's really normal to be confused about this topic. If you search online about dopamine and how it influences us, you might find things describin...

Have you ever wishes that you could remember things better? You might read or see something really interesting and you get an idea but by the time you sit down to write down your idea, you forgot what it was. It’s frustrating when ideas slip away from us before we can do anything with them. Or when you can’t recall a key piece of information that you’d like to build on. That’s where a second brain...

Today’s chapter is a little bit different than the usual episodes. I’m going to share with you small ways in which we’ve add more meaning into our life as a family. This chapter is Christmas themed and I’m going to share with you Christmas tree journey - I’ve tried all sorts of different trees over the years - and why we stopped having a traditional Christmas tree. I’m also going to show you our s...

Today, we're diving deep into a phenomenon that many introverts experience but may not have a name for: the 'Introvert Hangover'. This is a state of physical and mental exhaustion that can occur after being in a highly stimulating environment, often involving a lot of social interaction. We'll explore how to know if you’re having an introvert hangover (for example you may be extrem...

I do a lot of research, read loads of books and online sources. I’m also I’m a certified introvert coach, I work with private coaching clients, I’m an introvert myself and I’m the mom of an introverted child. In this podcast, I’m going to talk about things like energy management and time management, how to stay focused and gain clarity about what’s important to you, how to leverage natural discipl...

Hi there, introverted solopreneur 🤗 If you work solo most of the time like me, it can get tough to stay motivated. You may have asked yourself: “How do I stay motivated?” or "What should I do if I'm not motivated?” My answer: focus on the small wins. Especially in the midst of the holiday season, there’s so much pressure to do this or that. It’s a busy time and one person might be tellin...