Don't listen to podcasts when washing the dishes
Your brain is an email inbox overflowing with unreads.
I use wired headphones.
It’s not because I’m suspicious about the long-term safety of bluetooth frequencies (although I am). It’s because wireless headphones are too convenient. They make it too easy to listen to other people’s thoughts throughout my day.
The wire offers a physical bridge, a reminder of the choice I make to listen. A deliberate search for one of these is required to plug it in. A conscious act of consent.
Wires also make the information plumbing more legible:
This friction is needed because if you’re always consuming other people’s thoughts, you won’t have time to process your own.
Podcasts interrupt your brain’s natural tendency to wander. Mind-wandering is when you finally attend to the highly personal things that require your attention. Otherwise they keep you up at night.
I sometimes succumb to the illusory notion that my life is “unproductive” unless it is filled with endless learning. Throwing on an audiobook gives me a feeling that I’m being extra efficient.
But I have come to realize the truth - the mere act of consumption is not equivalent to true learning. Every new piece of information only adds to the cacophony of unprocessed thoughts. The true work lies in quieting the mind and giving due attention to that which has been neglected.
Stop amassing new open loops. Process the old ones.
Daniel