In the background

I don’t do well with silence. It’s too much.

My brain struggles to focus on tasks if things are quiet.

Yes, yes. I know. It’s good to let my mind wander and think. Processing thoughts allows our minds to think through ideas. That’s the whole point of daydreaming. That’s where geniuses are made. We need to allow time to make things happen in the backs of our brains.

Well, my brain didn’t get the memo. It has exactly zero interest in the quiet of this world. Because in that quiet exists everything that would distract from what I want to do.

I can’t work without background sounds (unless, of course, I’m talking to someone. Then I’m fine).

I need something to hold my attention while working through a task. I need audio playing so that I can hold myself to a chair and make my fingers work a keyboard.

Even on my weekly runs I listen to audio. The stillness of the woods (mixed with occasional terrifying sounds near the trail) is too much for me.

I’ve built my career around thinking, processing, creatively solving problems, and building things. But I’ve also chosen a path that allows me to have headphones in—all day long. My work life is also my listening life. If I’m not talking to someone I’m listening to sounds.

There’s a range of audio I pick from depending on the focus I need.

My options are audiobooks, podcasts, and music.

For audiobooks I switch between fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is divided into books I really want to pay attention to, and books I don’t mind if I miss part of the plot. Same with non-fiction. Some books are so good I want to hear every word, others I can afford to miss a paragraph or two.

With podcasts I have my regulars, where I like the cadence and inflection of the hosts. Sometimes I don’t mind if I miss the occasional chapter, other times I’m riveted and don’t want to miss anything. Then I have new shows I’m testing, they’re almost like tossing on NPR and not caring too much about what’s playing in the background. I could miss the whole episode, but at least sound was playing.

With music I choose based on the emotional energy I want. Sometimes I want a playlist that picks me up, other times I need to get into a focus mode and not pay attention to what’s playing.

I try to follow Cal Newport’s deep work ideas. Part of the day is set aside for really getting into the hardest parts of my job, the biggest challenges, the things only I can do. The rest of the day is often communication, simpler tasks, and things that just need to get done; but don’t require as much concentration.

Some tasks require intense focus in medium length bursts. If I’m writing code, sketching the user experience flow of an app, writing acceptance criteria, or something similar that requires my entire attention, then I can’t listen to podcasts or audiobooks.

Here I choose music. But I can’t listen to anything that would distract me. Either I choose a playlist I’ve heard before (many times) or a play a single song on repeat. The latter option is my preference. Playlists are tricky to organize, and sometimes I’ll get a song that pulls me out of the work.

Playing a song on repeat is my preferred option for deep focused work. I know exactly how the music will progress over a short period, and then it will start over. I can get into a groove with work, knowing that the sound has my attention while being so normalized that is muffles distractions from the outside world. I’m not kidding when I say that I will listen to a song hundreds of times on repeat.

If I’m doing medium intensity tasks then I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks. For example, if I’m laying out the high fidelity elements on a page. In that mode I can allow my attention to follow a storyline. I’ve already wrestled with how all the larger pieces fit together, and now I’m working on the smaller details.

In these cases I prefer a slight distraction to keep focused for longer periods of time. I allow my mind to drift into a story while fitting the tetris pieces of the screens together. To me this is more akin to building a jigsaw puzzle. It requires focus and paying attention to the tiny details, but because I’m so myopic I don’t have to think about the whole.

With tasks that require no focus at all I’m much the same. In these cases I absolutely need audio playing to keep me interested. Thankfully I’ve mostly eliminated these tasks from my life, but sometimes they persist. This is the category of bookkeeping, taxes, paying the bills, and the like.

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. One day I decided to go on a run without any headphones. I had a lot to process. Some big things on my mind. It was actually pretty great and might defeat my whole point in this article. But I just can’t do it too much. I find myself wanting audio. Although, if you ever hear reports of a man eaten by a mountain lion in north idaho, that will probably be me. I’d never heard it creeping up on me.