As I write this, I am very much deep into my “old woman” vibe as I am listening to a music channel that is called “Positive Morning Jazz” and is basically the most easy-listening of easy-listening jazz — the type of which I have, on many occasions, made merciless fun of. Ah, how the turns have tabled…
It does make me think about music and distractions and anxiety, mostly because of a discussion that was had on twitter recently about whether listening to music helps productivity or is distracting, and I was honestly surprised by how many people think it’s distracting.
I still, sometimes, forget that I am not 100% neurotypical but I am reminded of it when I see people with ADHD or other mental-focus issues talk about how music (usually instrumental, but by no means always) helps them focus. That has always been the case for me as well. Give me a quiet, peaceful room and my brain weasels will make waste of my attention span, trying to fill up the void with mental noise in lieu of actual environmental noise. I have choice, then: actually meditate in earnest or put on some music in order to be productive.
I’ve always been this way. At New College, I loved studying in Hamilton (the student union) with all the ambient sounds of people and general living. Holing up in my dorm room was good for writing, but terrible for reading or critical analysis.
Recently I’ve taken to doodling during meetings, and I’ve found this has increased my attention span and focus. It doesn’t look that way to others, I know, and that bothers me. I do not want to give the impression I’m not listening! But the irony is that if my brain isn’t “making noise” my attention wanders away, and meetings become interminable drudgery of fuzziness. I simply check out. Doodling, though, grounds me. I am listening better despite looking the opposite.
Which is to say, I guess, that brains are weird. I would not necessarily say the music channel I’m listening to now is good, but it’s effective, and that matters.
Rando doodles from meetings
…I just realized my ten minutes are up and I did not even talk about our morning walk. It was nice, although Keely was sleepy and dragged her way through it. No I don’t know why, but I do know she was having some intense dreams because she was barking in her sleep at one point in the night. I guess dogs can have a bad night’s sleep too. 🙁