Modern living has increased both the choices available to us and also the volume in our lives.
Even the once safe havens (libraries, bookstores and cafes) are not immune from the incessant beeps of incoming messages on smartphones, personal stereos that are anything but, personal conversations that are anything but.
How do we get an injection of tranquil calm and quiet in a world so full of potential distraction?
1) Seek Out Quiet Time
For me this involves early morning walks before the rest of world gets going. It gives me a chance to let my thinking fall into place. I think with clarity at this time without any interruption and it can often set the scene for the rest of my day.
For you it may be something different that works. Perhaps your quiet time comes at the end of the day, when the chores are done and the children are in bed. Or perhaps it comes in the middle of the day with a walk in the park to break up the demands of the day.
Maybe it’s a visit to your favourite bookstore of choice with coffee in hand and smartphone switched to silent.
Whatever works for you make sure you prioritise this time. Make it special, look forward to it and plan for it.
2) Tune Into Frequency You
For some this will involve meditation techniques. For others it may just involve a few deep breaths and a focus on tuning into your thinking. Whatever works and is a best fit for you is likely to be your best bet.
Focus on clearing out any cluttered thoughts. Focus on quietening your mind so your thoughts can become crystal clear. Focus on you.
3) Tune Out the External Clutter
The noise is here to stay and if anything, is likely to get noisier. As effective as options 1 and 2 are they are not necessarily always practical if we work in a packed office full of noisy colleagues and have an important deadline to meet. That means we also need to become effective as shutting out the external noise and just focusing anyway.
This is part skill and practice and part art. Many methods can work but often the most simple are effective.
Just putting your head down and getting on with the task at hand can mean others around you leave you to it.
Make sure it’s obvious to those around you that you’re in the middle of either some industrious action or some industrious thinking and you’re not to be disturbed.
Tuning out may take some practice and is always a bit of a work in progress. However, with a little focus and commitment you’ll get there.
Put these three steps into your bag of tricks and you’ll soon be finding your own quiet time in even the noisiest of places.