I was into podcasts before there was the internet. We used to buy tapes of sermons and listen to them on little portable cassette players. I’d listen to them while doing chores, walking around, or doing pretty much anything. If it wasn’t sermons, it was talk radio, sports and politics, and the occasional audiobook. In any case, there was always noise going on. So for me, the transition to podcasts was beyond easy, it was natural.
While I’ve read all those articles and books that claims you can’t multitask, I think they ignore the fact that many times a task won’t require your full brain power. And during those times, I find myself getting extremely anxious if I don’t have an audio distraction to keep me from being distracted by all the other self-chatter in my noggin.
Maybe it’s because of the kids, or because I’m moving into lower middle management, but all the sudden I’ve found myself enjoying silence. I still want noise during long stretches in brainless tasks (such as my commute), but I have surprised myself at times with how little chatter I’m throwing in my ears. Don’t get me wrong, I still listen to plenty of podcasts, but given how much I used to listen, it’s quite a sudden drop.
Twenty years ago, my first boss (who was most likely younger at the time than I am now) warned me this would be coming at some point. He was right. Silence does have a way of suddenly catching up to you. Even me.