Cacophony – do you fight for peace and quiet?
What does every dad long for? Yes, it’s peace and quiet. At least my dad did and so did I. I say did because the boys are gone now and it’s quiet most of the day. I’m wired to work in silence. I love it because I can focus in the silence of a car or on the motorcycle with no music or other distractions. I work at home most days and when I’m not on the phone, it’s quiet.
It can frustrate my passengers in the car. I remember driving between Indianapolis and Columbus, OH (Marysville really where the Honda Plant is) and my passenger was Conrad. He worked for me and I guess was nervous about being with ‘the boss’ so was not willing to say anything about it for a couple of trips. At one point he finally said ‘are you ever going to turn on the radio?’. We laughed and from then on I told him to set the radio to something he liked and it was fine. At least he liked rock and roll.
Those of us that are created this way can get lost in our heads. We think and talk out loud in the car because we need to hear our thoughts sometimes. It helps me prepare to teach or talk to a group. Music is a distraction to that so I don’t listen to it most times. I wrote yesterday about weaving back and forth across the road in time with the music I was playing on the motorcycle. I find that is more of a distraction now than it used to be so I don’t do it in the name of self preservation. I am distracted enough by the sights and smells on the bike. Riding weather is here and I have yet to get out and enjoy it this week but maybe I can carve out some time soon.
As I write this I am listening to something I found. I wanted to experiment with sound and music and this was recommended. It’s called Ambient 1: Music for Airports. The idea is to have something playing you don’t have to pay attention to but if you do start to listen, it’s complex enough to entertain and be enjoyable. You can find it on Google Music All Play as well if you subscribe.
Not sure I am sold on the idea but at least it’s not a distraction like most music I hear. I do notice that as I listen I feel the tension in my shoulders and neck so I am striving to relax them. That is a good thing.
As I return to work from my trip to Austin I feel the cacophony rising and I have to work to not let it over ride my important tasks. We have all have things that, if we do them, it makes everything else easier or even unnecessary. Do you know what that is for you? For each of us it’s different but you have to know what it is if you want to be the most effective person you can be. It takes focus and intention. The book that taught me this is called The One Thing and it’s written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. I would recommend it to you to help find the one thing you need to do and manage the cacophony in your day.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell