filtering out the noise

Is noise-cancelling more than just silence?

"My mind is always going in every direction."

When everything is completely quiet, my mind starts making noise on its own. Ideas, to-do lists, solutions for problems that might not even exist yet. Everything at once. Everything equally important.

That's why I work best when I feel like I'm being left alone. Late at night. Or very early in the morning.

No emails. No messages. No hassle.

That alone already makes a difference. My mind doesn't have to stay constantly alert for whatever might come in.

Still, I notice those moments are costing me more and more energy. Sometimes I'm simply too tired. Sometimes I just can't get myself going that early anymore.

So now I try to create that cocoon at other moments too. Not waiting for the world to go quiet, but trying to create calm myself.

And yet, complete silence doesn't work for me either.

I actually work best with two voices at the same time. Someone else's voice in the background — a podcast, sometimes television — and my own voice in what I'm creating.

Not music. Music doesn't distract me enough. My thoughts get too much room again to wander in every direction. I drift more easily toward side issues, to-do lists, or things I still need to solve.

A podcast is different.

A voice that just keeps going. If I miss something, it doesn't matter. I tune back in. But there's just enough structure to stop my mind from completely going its own way.

It's a constant layer. Not demanding, but present enough.

I've noticed I need to do two things at once to really concentrate. Listening to a podcast while creating. Watching television while gathering ideas or working on my website.

One voice alone isn't enough — that's when my mind starts opening extra channels on its own. More than two is too much — then I become overstimulated.

Two is exactly right.

Part of this also has to do with the fact that we moved just before my burnout. Because of the situation we ended up in at the time, our living situation brought a lot of tension with it. My home and studio didn't automatically feel safe anymore.

That changed something.

I've realized I need to create my own cocoon. Otherwise I lose my focus too quickly. Noise-cancelling on. Podcast on. Setting boundaries around my attention. Choosing what gets in.

I also notice that physical distance helps. When I'm in Lisbon, there's more calm in my head. And because of that, I can work again.

Not immediately. The first few days I seem to need time to acclimatize. My mind needs time to realize it's somewhere else.

But after that, space appears. As if certain channels become quieter.

Not shutting everything out. But shielding myself enough.

That's how I can work. That's how my own voice can rise to the surface again.

That's what works for me.