The Silent Solution
There is something that feels distinctly resignationist about admitting that we need silence in our lives. Living in this flurry of noise, music and chatter has become so normative that most of us may not even realize we need a break from it, nor would we know how to find it. Our minds are so accustomed to focusing on many things at once. Until we can’t.
I’ve spent a lot of time in my career working without that exact realization, that my brain needed silence. In the lavish world of silicon valley there is no shortage of incentives that keep you working while indulging one’s need for comforts; open office, overflowing pantry full of snacks, high-tech equipment, gregarious and fun co-workers. What more could anyone ask for?
As it turns out, the idiom “too much of a good thing” is a thing.
Too Much In + Not Enough Out = Mental Constipation.
The benefit of all of this freedom and encouragement to engage my senses left me distracted. Sometimes it felt as if my mind were a sponge at full absorption with no place to wring it. Too much visual and auditory stimuli clogs our filters and makes it difficult to narrow in on a task that requires concentration. Studies on the subject of music and distraction have shown that repetitive tasks (i.e. factory work) is positively impacted by the use of music in the background, as it creates a less boring atmosphere and keeps workers alert; same with brain surgeons, who spend a majority of time in the operating room sawing at the skull bones of their patients also benefit from background music. I prefer my surgeons completely attentive while cutting open my pre-frontal cortex, amiright? Tasks that require focus have shown better results with the use of silence.
And I found that it wasn’t only music that was distracting me from doing my best work. The open-office set up that is designed to inspire creativity and teamwork is the perfect storm for a plethora of distractions. The ambient conversations of co-workers, slight movements of a hand across the desk from mine and even the sound of someone sneezing were all obstacles to thoughtful, deep creative work.
The day it all changed.
It all started when I locked myself in one of our conference rooms and sat there staring at a blank piece of paper. I was stuck in an odd paradox of being bored and unable to concentrate; my mind was wandering to a few conversations that were going on just outside.
“Alex ate 30 chicken McNuggets yesterday for lunch. It was gnarly.”
“Did you hear about the coffee stand around the corner, they have nitro coffee on TAP.”
In an effort to quite literally “tune out” the external noise, I decided it was best to construct my own noise; noise that I’ve chosen. Maybe that’d help me focus.
On go my newly purchased Bose Q35 noise canceling headphones. I sat there a bit longer, hoping that Phife Dawg and the Tribe could help me through my concentration woes.
Fifteen minutes go by. I come out of my hip hop excursion with all of my favorite artists. Biggie, Tupac, Dead Prez, you name it. And yet… my page was still blank. No new thoughtful designs came out of those moments. There’s a correlation between being too engaged with your music and having less ability to stay on task with your work. They say music with simple beats and little syncopation can be less demanding on the brain, but the reality is, music competes for our focus and attention, so even the most sublime of musical selections can pull us away from our work.
Frustrated by my lack of ability to concentrate and create, I exited Spotify.
To my surprise, all I was left with was pure silence. I could not hear a thing minus the short whisps of my breath.
This is what I needed.
The Virtue of Silence
As reluctant as I was to give up my music to experiment with improved productivity, I recognized that it had to be done. Creation without distraction was a new concept in my world. I wasn’t even sure what it would look like.
So I sat there. With just my sheet of blank paper, my breath and my own being.
Things became clear.
A vividness of thought came over me and I began to create.
An hour passed. I took off my headphones and looked around. I had just had an out of body experience of sorts; with my work and with myself. The enlightened ideas transpired from my mind down through my arm, hand, sharpie and onto the piece of white 8.5 x 11 paper in front of me.
I found it.. The solution to a challenging design problem that had been escaping me, and did it all with time to spare before the next meeting. This new approach, shutting off the external distractions to just be with myself and my creative process was a god-send.
Give Your Mind a Break
Since that day, my coworkers rarely see me walking around the office without my headphones. I refuse to subject myself to the chaos.
The thoughtfulness of silence and the rich creative outlet it provides offers a myriad of benefits that I highly recommend to anyone who is struggling with a mental block to a problem or cerebral overload.
Buy those Q35s.
