The sound of silence - Karen Bush
It's a well known fact that dogs prefer Bach.
Yes, really. They've done studies on it.
When I was surrounded by noise I longed for quieter, more tranquil surroundings: how much easier it would be to concentrate, I thought. How much more productive I would be ...
Well, dear reader, it turned out that when my wish came true, that wasn't the case at all. I found that I actually missed the background noise. And without it, the need to grimly enforce a bit of concentration on what I was doing evaporated: without the background distractions, ironically I became more easily distracted.
I tried to artificially reproduce it by turning on the radio. Music stations didn't always play selections I liked, and the chat ones were a disaster as I found myself listening to them rather than working, and during phone-ins often shrieking outraged retorts at it. Playing CDs wasn't much better as I tended to slow down and listen to the music - well, it was stuff I liked, after all.
Going to the pub or a café was out - the tables are never big enough for my clutter (I'm not a stripped-down 'my Notebook is all I need' sort of person) and anyway the likelihood of my knocking a pint or a frothy coffee all over it is pretty high, given my clumsiness.
But I finally found the perfect solution: TV. But not any old programmes - there must be just the right amount of noise, and not be so absorbing that I stop everything to listen. The perfect programme, I have found, is Time Team. I've seen them so many times before that I virtually know the script off by heart, so no danger of downing tools in favour of goggleboxing. It has a certain cosy familiarity, like my previous noisy working environments, and fortuitously is on for at least three hours during the day at around the time when I try to get a bit of work done.
Heaven help me if they ever take it off: I suppose I'll have to buy the DVDs ...
So what works for you? Silence or noise? Empty house or bustling background?
PS:
Midsummer Eve will see the publication of our third collection of stories ... more news soon ...
Comments
And reading? At home I need quiet to read. But then I can read in cafes and on buses.
As for dogs - we had a dog that used to sing when I practised the piano, but only when I played a scale of Emajoy!