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I think that we are being overwhelmed and it hurts us in more ways than our creativity. We are moving through the world in constant distraction. Until recently

I think that we are being overwhelmed and it hurts us in more ways than our creativity. We are moving through the world in constant distraction. Until recently, when I was doing something around the house, no matter what, I was listening to music, podcasts, or books. I found that it seemed like it was taking for ever for me to do the simplest tasks. After a while... I figured that I must be going slower because I was always doing two things at once. After a few weeks of doing the dishes without ear buds in, I don't think I'll ever go back. I am not able to focus better and get things done. If you are like I was, and you are always inundated with some distraction, try moving through the world without it.

coffeebeqn 3y ago
I think it’s not unlike other addictions. You end up using constant external stimulus to not have to deal with whatever is actually bothering you in your life. The concept I was missing basically since smartphones become a thing was this thing called “solitude”
- FigurativeVoid 3y ago
  https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/on-solitude https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/on-solitude was a post that was on HN a while ago. It basically agrees. We get some good things from solitude.
- Apocryphon 3y ago
  Before the internet I was just reading a lot. I'd like to get back to using books as a balm.
wintogreen74 3y ago
>> because I was always doing two things at once I think this is part of it; aside from basic system 1 stuff (like breathing) we're actually flipping between 2 or more things constantly. Sure I can listen to music while I go for a walk, but I spend 2 minutes getting set up before I start, and I slow down whenever I need to change anything.
- FigurativeVoid 3y ago
  You're exactly right. This is actually related to one of my pet peeves. I hate when people say they are good at multi-tasking. You aren't. Multitasking isn't real. You are just good at switching tasks.
  - scarby2 3y ago
    there has been research that suggests that people who say they are good at multi tasking are actually worse at it (or task switching) than people who say they are bad at multitasking.
    - jonathanpglick 3y ago
      Do you remember what the research was? I keep having this argument about multitasking not being a real thing but I'd love some concrete research to back it up. I get the sense that people just feel more productive when "multitasking" Rather than recognizing the true cost of constant context switching.
121789 3y ago
I can’t agree with this any more. If you find yourself always thinking “I’ll do the laundry, let me just find a good podcast first” you are in trouble. It’s so easy just to have constant input these days
- philipov 3y ago
  At first, I thought you meant you could no longer agree with this.
  - 121789 3y ago
    You’re right, I worded that terribly. Not changing it though
- grvdrm 3y ago
  Maybe I can suggest a middle-ground that is sort of best of both worlds: put on a podcast that isn't one that you're certain you want to be focused on? I listen to The Daily and variety of others when I do dishes. When I'm certain I want to really ingest a podcast, I listen during dedicated time. So, I think we're just conflating a bit - ok to have something in your ear while, in reality, you focus on just one thing - dishes. Just remember that you're not going to remember the thing in your ear all that much.
lelanthran 3y ago
I listen to white noise, on headphones, when I want to think. Might be my imagination, but I think it's made a difference.
- FigurativeVoid 3y ago
  I think white noise is entirely different than a podcast. Good white noise shouldn't have anything that should be too distracting.
- tharkun__ 3y ago
  White noise is very distracting for me. Can't sleep with it on. It actually "hurts" as well - as in it feels like there's something pushing on my hearing constantly. I understand it helps some people but not me and if someone suggests using it to drown out other stuff that does not work for me. It does not make things better. Just bad differently. I need silence.
- runjake 3y ago
  Same, but with brown noise[1] (not to be confused with the brown note[2]). I find it less harsh and it seems to drown out office talk much more. 1. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H1DT9A2uoT7pTVRDSolnk https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H1DT9A2uoT7pTVRDSolnk 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    The white noise I listen to sounds exactly the same as the brown noise in that playlist. What's the difference?
    - wholinator2 3y ago
      The different "colors" of noise correspond to the altered frequency amplitudes of the random frequencies that make up the noise. White noise should be totally flat with an equal contribution of all frequencies. Brown noise has some of the highs rolled off. There's other colors like pink which have different characters. The nature of the sound is still noise. To an untrained ear it might be hard to detect the different frequency reasponses and it is highly dependent on the quality of speaker you're listening to it on as each speaker imposes a frequency response curve on top of the noise itself. If you want to detect the difference i'd recommend wearing headphones and switching back and forth between the two. There, you should be able to hear a difference assuming it's actual brown noise. I use a website called mynoise.net which allows you to select from a variety of noises, one of which is white noise. The key to mynoise.net is that it includes an equalizer that allows you to "tune" your noise to the environment. When working in a loud library i will sit there with my headphones and mynoise.net on white rain and pull each equalizer knob up and down until it perfectly covers the noise around me. I do that for the entire frequency table and I've got a perfectly tuned white noise/sound blocker for the people's voices around me. It's honestly amazing
m463 3y ago
I use earplugs and it helps immensely getting into the zone and staying there. (I get 3M ear classic NRR 33 earplugs 200 pairs at a time)
- FigurativeVoid 3y ago
  This is a great suggestion. I've also heard that people who participate it memory contest will use blinders so they can better focus on the task at hand.
makeitdouble 3y ago
The obvious other side of that coin: of the two things we're doing at once, one of them is neither fun nor engaging. Making it the thing to 100% focus on will also mean it it's now a stronger candidate to procrastination, and just won't be done at all.
- coldtea 3y ago
  Perhaps it shouldn't have been done or added to our plate in the first place?
  - makeitdouble 3y ago
    Maybe. I don't know if I'd enjoy it, but I'd totally try hiring a full house keeping staff if I had that kind of money flowing in. I otherwise find it awkward to have random people working in my house for a few hours a week at a total cost that isn't trivial either.
  - yowzadave 3y ago
    Who are the people who deserve this task? This reminds me of the Tim Ferris mentality, in which he simply hires low-wage workers to do every task he thinks is unworthy of his attention. Obviously not everyone can have this luxury— at some point somebody still has to do the grunt work.
    - coldtea 3y ago
      >Who are the people who deserve this task? Where does "deserving" enter the picture? People do work for pay, not based on whatever they deserve to do such work or not (except in the sense that they have the skills to do it). It's not like a housecleaner or a burger flipper "deserve" to be doing what they do. A paid task is not an award or a punishment, it's something people do in exchange for money, because they have the skills for it and not for other stuff, or because they like it, or because for whatever reasons they can't find other line of work. Besides, "it shouldn't have been done or added to our plate in the first place" doesn't necessarily mean it must be done by someone else. Perhaps it's just busywork, or we can just not do it and make do without whatever it was supposed to give us. Or find a way to achieve our existing goals without it.
IanCal 3y ago
It's personal. For me I have multiple conversations happening in my head most of the time, not quite simultaneously. Listening to something like a podcast occupies that part of my brain so it's less chatty - and I can move forwards more quickly with a simpler task (e.g. now the lawn).
coldtea 3y ago
Yes, the emphasis on hurting our creativity is a red herring. It first and foremost hurts our ability to focus, work, live our private life, pay attention to our partners, family, and friends, be aware politically, and so on.
agys 3y ago
I live in an old house without a dishwater. The 5-10 minutes spent doing the dishes are moments of deep thoughts, not dissimilar of the ones under the shower; maybe it’s the water…
- unethical_ban 3y ago
  I recently moved out of a house without a dishwasher. I'm less depressed now, because it's so much easier to keep my smaller apartment clean with an automatic dishwasher. I feel like I can cook without it being a four or five hour affair. If it works for you, that's great, but I don't miss doing dishes manually.
paulpauper 3y ago
Distractions are not that bad. The idea is you complete work in small bites and then recharge instead of crossing the point of diminishing returns.

coffeebeqn 3y ago

I think it’s not unlike other addictions. You end up using constant external stimulus to not have to deal with whatever is actually bothering you in your life. The concept I was missing basically since smartphones become a thing was this thing called “solitude”

FigurativeVoid 3y ago
https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/on-solitude https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/on-solitude was a post that was on HN a while ago. It basically agrees. We get some good things from solitude.
Apocryphon 3y ago
Before the internet I was just reading a lot. I'd like to get back to using books as a balm.

wintogreen74 3y ago

>> because I was always doing two things at once I think this is part of it; aside from basic system 1 stuff (like breathing) we're actually flipping between 2 or more things constantly. Sure I can listen to music while I go for a walk, but I spend 2 minutes getting set up before I start, and I slow down whenever I need to change anything.

FigurativeVoid 3y ago
You're exactly right. This is actually related to one of my pet peeves. I hate when people say they are good at multi-tasking. You aren't. Multitasking isn't real. You are just good at switching tasks.
- scarby2 3y ago
  there has been research that suggests that people who say they are good at multi tasking are actually worse at it (or task switching) than people who say they are bad at multitasking.
  - jonathanpglick 3y ago
    Do you remember what the research was? I keep having this argument about multitasking not being a real thing but I'd love some concrete research to back it up. I get the sense that people just feel more productive when "multitasking" Rather than recognizing the true cost of constant context switching.

121789 3y ago

I can’t agree with this any more. If you find yourself always thinking “I’ll do the laundry, let me just find a good podcast first” you are in trouble. It’s so easy just to have constant input these days

philipov 3y ago
At first, I thought you meant you could no longer agree with this.
- 121789 3y ago
  You’re right, I worded that terribly. Not changing it though
grvdrm 3y ago
Maybe I can suggest a middle-ground that is sort of best of both worlds: put on a podcast that isn't one that you're certain you want to be focused on? I listen to The Daily and variety of others when I do dishes. When I'm certain I want to really ingest a podcast, I listen during dedicated time. So, I think we're just conflating a bit - ok to have something in your ear while, in reality, you focus on just one thing - dishes. Just remember that you're not going to remember the thing in your ear all that much.

lelanthran 3y ago

I listen to white noise, on headphones, when I want to think. Might be my imagination, but I think it's made a difference.

FigurativeVoid 3y ago
I think white noise is entirely different than a podcast. Good white noise shouldn't have anything that should be too distracting.
tharkun__ 3y ago
White noise is very distracting for me. Can't sleep with it on. It actually "hurts" as well - as in it feels like there's something pushing on my hearing constantly. I understand it helps some people but not me and if someone suggests using it to drown out other stuff that does not work for me. It does not make things better. Just bad differently. I need silence.
runjake 3y ago
Same, but with brown noise[1] (not to be confused with the brown note[2]). I find it less harsh and it seems to drown out office talk much more. 1. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H1DT9A2uoT7pTVRDSolnk https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H1DT9A2uoT7pTVRDSolnk 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note
- lelanthran 3y ago
  The white noise I listen to sounds exactly the same as the brown noise in that playlist. What's the difference?
  - wholinator2 3y ago
    The different "colors" of noise correspond to the altered frequency amplitudes of the random frequencies that make up the noise. White noise should be totally flat with an equal contribution of all frequencies. Brown noise has some of the highs rolled off. There's other colors like pink which have different characters. The nature of the sound is still noise. To an untrained ear it might be hard to detect the different frequency reasponses and it is highly dependent on the quality of speaker you're listening to it on as each speaker imposes a frequency response curve on top of the noise itself. If you want to detect the difference i'd recommend wearing headphones and switching back and forth between the two. There, you should be able to hear a difference assuming it's actual brown noise. I use a website called mynoise.net which allows you to select from a variety of noises, one of which is white noise. The key to mynoise.net is that it includes an equalizer that allows you to "tune" your noise to the environment. When working in a loud library i will sit there with my headphones and mynoise.net on white rain and pull each equalizer knob up and down until it perfectly covers the noise around me. I do that for the entire frequency table and I've got a perfectly tuned white noise/sound blocker for the people's voices around me. It's honestly amazing

m463 3y ago

I use earplugs and it helps immensely getting into the zone and staying there. (I get 3M ear classic NRR 33 earplugs 200 pairs at a time)

FigurativeVoid 3y ago
This is a great suggestion. I've also heard that people who participate it memory contest will use blinders so they can better focus on the task at hand.

makeitdouble 3y ago

The obvious other side of that coin: of the two things we're doing at once, one of them is neither fun nor engaging. Making it the thing to 100% focus on will also mean it it's now a stronger candidate to procrastination, and just won't be done at all.

coldtea 3y ago
Perhaps it shouldn't have been done or added to our plate in the first place?
- makeitdouble 3y ago
  Maybe. I don't know if I'd enjoy it, but I'd totally try hiring a full house keeping staff if I had that kind of money flowing in. I otherwise find it awkward to have random people working in my house for a few hours a week at a total cost that isn't trivial either.
- yowzadave 3y ago
  Who are the people who deserve this task? This reminds me of the Tim Ferris mentality, in which he simply hires low-wage workers to do every task he thinks is unworthy of his attention. Obviously not everyone can have this luxury— at some point somebody still has to do the grunt work.
  - coldtea 3y ago
    >Who are the people who deserve this task? Where does "deserving" enter the picture? People do work for pay, not based on whatever they deserve to do such work or not (except in the sense that they have the skills to do it). It's not like a housecleaner or a burger flipper "deserve" to be doing what they do. A paid task is not an award or a punishment, it's something people do in exchange for money, because they have the skills for it and not for other stuff, or because they like it, or because for whatever reasons they can't find other line of work. Besides, "it shouldn't have been done or added to our plate in the first place" doesn't necessarily mean it must be done by someone else. Perhaps it's just busywork, or we can just not do it and make do without whatever it was supposed to give us. Or find a way to achieve our existing goals without it.

IanCal 3y ago

It's personal. For me I have multiple conversations happening in my head most of the time, not quite simultaneously. Listening to something like a podcast occupies that part of my brain so it's less chatty - and I can move forwards more quickly with a simpler task (e.g. now the lawn).

coldtea 3y ago

Yes, the emphasis on hurting our creativity is a red herring. It first and foremost hurts our ability to focus, work, live our private life, pay attention to our partners, family, and friends, be aware politically, and so on.

agys 3y ago

I live in an old house without a dishwater. The 5-10 minutes spent doing the dishes are moments of deep thoughts, not dissimilar of the ones under the shower; maybe it’s the water…

unethical_ban 3y ago
I recently moved out of a house without a dishwasher. I'm less depressed now, because it's so much easier to keep my smaller apartment clean with an automatic dishwasher. I feel like I can cook without it being a four or five hour affair. If it works for you, that's great, but I don't miss doing dishes manually.

paulpauper 3y ago

Distractions are not that bad. The idea is you complete work in small bites and then recharge instead of crossing the point of diminishing returns.