Thursday, January 22, 2009

Focusing with White Noise

I'm grateful to have my own office at work, but even with my door closed it's sometimes noisy in the hall. And my neighbor's telephone conversations and music (an interesting mix of gospel and country) come right through the ceiling vent.

When I'm writing or just really busy (which is pretty much every day), I really need to focus, and I can't do it with all the noise. And playing my own music distracts me. So I've found a wonderful solution: white noise!

This website by Partners in Rhyme has continuously looping tracks of noise-blotting sounds like ocean waves, wind, rain, a clothes dryer, and a busy city street. I have one of these playing almost constantly, and it really helps me focus. If you're like me and need to focus, try it out! The only one I'd caution against is the church bells track, which is described as "One half hour of church bells ringing. Great for weddings or to annoy your noisy neighbor."