Silence

Silence is a mug of coffee and a quiet house
I do kinda like people 1, but I adore silence. I’m not the type of person who enjoys background noise, I find it incredibly distracting. Other writers have “writing playlists,” I don’t understand the concept.

This becomes fun when I’m attempting to concentrate on something in a group setting, especially with people who process vocally. Every word, every question, every suggestion derails my thought process and sends me back to step one. There are time where I’ll literally reach out to a collaborator, place my hand on their shoulder, and say, “Just give me a minute, please be quiet 2.”

This comic depicts my ideal situation. Silence and fresh coffee. Pure joy.


  1. Kinda. 
  2. Other times I’ll just hiss, “Shh!” It depends on my mood and how distracted I am. 

Discover more from Painfully Hopeful

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

7 Comments

  1. Peg Horton's avatar Peg Horton says:

    I can understand that.back ground noise drounds my thoughts.

    Sent from my iPad

    >

  2. chrisjwilson's avatar chrisjwilson says:

    I seem to switch between the two, working with music and without. I almost always use instrumental music when I listen to music (but not always). I think the type of work does make a difference. Writing is much harder with music, but painting or drawing doesn’t seem AS important. I’ve been experimenting with time tracking so hopefully I’ll be able to measure any difference that listening to music makes.

    1. Wes Allen's avatar wezlo says:

      Human voices act like a reset button on my concentration, so music with lyrics is out for me in just about any situation which requires my absolute attention. I’d love to hear what you discover, though!

    2. chrisjwilson's avatar chrisjwilson says:

      so I managed to write a blog post in 8 minutes today using “A kind of blue”. I’m sure there were other factors too though.

    3. Wes Allen's avatar wezlo says:

      What’s “A kind of blue?”

    4. chrisjwilson's avatar chrisjwilson says:

      (sorry kind of blue) Miles Davis

    5. Wes Allen's avatar wezlo says:

      And I just revealed how little I listen to music….

Comments are closed.