Silence is King

 I’m old enough to remember the pre-internet days when silence and boredom were a thing. But I'm still young enough to embrace internet culture. (I often say my generation straddles the two worlds - pre-internet and now)

Anyway... for years, I listened to podcasts and audiobooks whenever I was doing something like driving our household chores. It was a way to squeeze more out of what otherwise felt like dead time. But I’ve come to realise this was not just a way to make such tasks less mundane; it was often also a way to distract myself from my thoughts. But now, with two kids running around the house, I spend much of the day overstimulated, with no time or mental space to think. Too many tabs open in my brain. 

So recently I’ve gone back to old-fashioned silence. Driving in silence. Doing chores in silence. Having some time in my head.

Sure, podcasts and audiobooks are entertaining and teach me a ton, but creating some white space for my mind has been a game-changer

It’s made me feel more relaxed and given me greater mental clarity, which has improved my sense of wellbeing

It’s probably a lifecycles thing and I’ll go back to regular listening—feeding myself with inputs—at some point. But for now, simple silence is King.