Quiet Work: Finding Focus in a Distracted World
How does one work productively amidst a myriad of distractions? There are distractions everywhere. How does one find focus and just embrace the silence? As I sat down to draft this post, my attempts to work in quiet were futile. I finished listening to a podcast on YouTube. I checked my e-mail (in my defense it was work-related). I looked at what was on the TV (I often have my TV on mute while I’m listening to music or something on YouTube. I guess I need the flickering lights in the background). Everything to avoid the quiet. I do work faster when it’s quiet—there are no distractions. Yet, there's a paradox – an uneasiness when faced with absolute silence, as if I fear the possibility of missing out, even on something trivial.
Lately, I’ve been grappling with a little financial anxiety/stress. I’ve found myself obsessing over every bill, to the point where I’m adding things up in my head every other minute (and I hate math). I need distractions to bring my stress level down, but even I get tired of the distractions. The quiet moments, when the TV is off and the phone is put away, are when I feel the most at peace. So why not embrace the quiet moments? Give into the silence.
The first step in this highly scientific experiment is sleeping in silence. For the past several years, I’ve slept with a small fan on—regardless of how cold or warm the weather is. When I started living on my own, I needed the noise of the fan to drown out all the sounds I was hearing—traffic, people in the hallway, creaking, or four-legged friends scurrying behind my bed (also a big reason I moved from my previous apartment). All things that in some way creeped me out because I was living alone for the first time. But now I don’t think I need the buzzing of the fan anymore. My current apartment is MUCH quieter than the last. However, the first night without the sound of the fan was a struggle, I stared at the ceiling for a while wondering why it was so quiet?! In the three-plus weeks since I abandoned the fan, I’ve slept much better than I have in a long time. I only wake up once or twice during the night instead of the usual three or four times—I think the nighttime quiet agrees with me.
What about during the workday? Can I embrace the silence working from home every day? Yes and no. I seem to be able to do it in spurts, like two- or three-hour blocks. I tried working a full day in silence and it just wasn’t happening. I crave the news of the day or Stephen Colbert’s banter, or a book review while I work, read, or send e-mails. The need to multitask is such a hard habit to break. My mind yearns for perpetual activity, yet it also craves those moments of blissful silence—if that makes any sense. Do any of you struggle with working in silence? How do you break the habit?
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