If you鈥檙e like most of us, you overindulged a bit too much in 2019. No, not on calories (well, maybe those too!), but on 鈥渘oise.鈥� That鈥檚 the name for the dizzying onslaught of information from work emails, app notifications, the 24/7 news cycle, social media updates, and other forms of screen time that leaves us unable to focus, listen, or do deep work.
A smidgen of noise now and again is okay. (We all have our guilty pleasures!) But consuming it mindlessly, all day long, is as bad as keeping a bag of chips, a monster-size soda, and a can of frosting at our desk and reaching for them every few minutes.
Too many empty brain calories won鈥檛 make you fat but they will make you mentally anemic. Noise keeps you in a constant state of distraction. And like actual junk food, a high-noise digital diet is addictive, yet it never satisfies or nourishes you.
The real problem with giving into noise temptation isn鈥檛 what you鈥檙e doing; it鈥檚 what you鈥檙e not doing. You鈥檙e tuning out what really matters. You鈥檙e skimming the surface. When you鈥檙e scrolling Facebook, for instance, you aren鈥檛 learning a new language, refining that career-changing presentation, or engaging with your kids in a meaningful way.
The new year is the perfect time to put yourself on a noise diet. To help with your calorie count, let鈥檚 take a look at what noise junk food looks like:
The irritating 鈥� yet addictive 鈥� parade of social media stock characters in your newsfeed. This band of noisemakers assaults your brain with their cries for attention. For instance:
The humble bragger.Your college rival who subtly slips into her post that she just got another promotion at her swanky company. #blessed #gag
The cryptic drama-stirrer.That self-righteous friend who calls out people anonymously for perceived slights or makes vague 鈥減oor me鈥� pity posts. (Cue the wave of very concerned commenters.)
The over-sharer.We don鈥檛 need a play-by-play of your colonoscopy. Thanks.
The drop-of-a-hat ranter.Whose day would be complete without a furious recounting of how the barista screwed up your nonfat, dairy-free, double-shot, decaf, extra-hot mochaccino with extra foam? The nerve!
The overly zealous kid promoter.Yes, yes, we know Junior is the smartest, cutest, cleverest tot around鈥攜our other 15 posts this week made that perfectly clear.
The amateur political pundit.Do not engage ... just don鈥檛.
Dumb@$$ shows on TV.You don鈥檛 need to waste your precious attention span watching Jerry Springer, B-list celebrity lip-synch contests, or those morning talk shows. Substance-free television combined with the lure of a cozy couch can quickly turn into a lost day or evening.
The 24/7 news carousel-of-darkness.Sadly, most news is bad news, and during a controversial election year it can also be fodder for controversy, vitriol, and the loss of civility with friends, family, and neighbors. (Hint: You don鈥檛 need to totally disengage, but it鈥檚 good to be discerning about what you let in鈥攁nd about how often you engage in debates with the people in your life.)
Your work email.Your boss just had to email you at 9:30 p.m....again. The moment you jump out of the bath to write back is the moment work email becomes yet another source of noise.
Are you feeling that noise hangover settle in? Don鈥檛 worry, you can kick off the new year with a different kind of diet 鈥� one that cuts the empty 鈥渂rain calories鈥� of digital distraction and gives you what you鈥檙e really craving: a more intentional life. Join my 鈥淛ust Say No to Noise鈥� Movement and tip the scales in the other direction. A few suggestions:
Try going a week without social media. (We promise, you鈥檒l survive.) A short detox from social media is a pretty painless way to unplug and reclaim a lot of lost time. When the week is over, you can see if you even want to go back to occasional scrolling.
Reduce temptation by 鈥渉iding鈥� distracting devices from yourself. Okay, you probably can鈥檛 hide your computer but you can shut the office door. As for cell phones and tablets, treat them like what they are: gateways to digital distraction (and it is a very slippery slope). Find an out-of-the-way place to charge and store your devices so you鈥檙e not constantly reaching for them.
Break the idiot-box 鈥渂ackground noise鈥� habit. It鈥檚 easy to mindlessly turn on the TV when you get home. Problem is, it鈥檚 broadcasting nonstop noise into your work-free hours. Instead, plan a time to watch your favorite shows. Daily exposure to the depressing litany of pain and conflict we call 鈥渘ews鈥� isn鈥檛 making your life better. Neither is watching the 鈥淔atty McButterpants鈥� episode of King of Queens for the 50th time. (Okay, we admit that one is pretty funny.)
Set some work/life boundaries with the 7-to-7 rule. The company won鈥檛 crash if you stop answering emails around the clock. After 7 p.m., put away your devices for the night. Don鈥檛 pick them up again until 7 a.m. the next day.
Insist on phone-free family dinners ... Yes, the kids might whine at first, but soon enough they鈥檒l get used to conversing with the out-of-touch 鈥淏oomers鈥� and 鈥淜arens鈥� at the table.
... and screen-free family fun days. For instance, make video games and TV completely off-limits every Wednesday and Friday. Yes, even if the kids swear they have no homework. Instead, do something fun or productive as a family. Play a board game. Go bowling or skating. Cook a great meal together. Volunteer at the local animal shelter. Heck ... maybe even read.
Learn to save your 鈥渁ppetite鈥� for the stuff that really matters ... Your 鈥渁ppetite鈥� is really your attention span, and it鈥檚 your most precious resource. Filling up on headlines, emails, and social media means there鈥檚 little left over for doing the deep and meaningful work that helps you reach big goals at work and in your personal life. Before you cozy into an hour of lurking on your ex鈥檚 Facebook page, close the laptop and find something productive to do.
... and choose some meaningful goals to pursue. When you are able to sharpen and aim your focus, you can do some pretty impressive &%$#. Want to start a website? Get a better job? Learn to code? These 鈥淣orth Star鈥� goals are the best incentive to rethink your relationship with noise and see how your life changes.
We don鈥檛 realize that very often our addiction to information is the thing holding us back from getting a huge promotion, becoming valedictorian, or training for a marathon, but that鈥檚 exactly what happens as time passes. Once you think of it this way, it鈥檚 so much easier to put yourself on a noise diet. Make this the year you take back your time and use it to do something that matters.
About the Author: 鈥↗oseph McCormack is the author of NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus. He is passionate about helping people gain clarity when there is so much competing for our attention. He is a successful marketer, entrepreneur, and author. His first book, BRIEF: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less (Wiley, 2014), sets the standard for concise communication.
Joe is the founder and managing director of The BRIEF Lab, an organization dedicated to teaching professionals, military leaders, and entrepreneurs how to think and communicate clearly. His clients include Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Mastercard, DuPont, and select military units and government agencies. He publishes a weekly podcast called 鈥淛ust Saying鈥� that helps people master the elusive skills of focus and brevity.
To learn more, visit .
