How can I concentrate on what I'm reading without being too distracted by background noise?
December 6, 2011 5:59 AM Subscribe
How can I concentrate on what I'm reading without being too distracted by background noise?
I like to read and I would like to be able to read in situations where there is some background noise but I find it hard to focus.
I'm mostly reading novels and the specific situations I'm thinking about are; coffee shops with quiet music and people talking, trains/buses and the shared break room at my work where people talk loudly and BBC News 24 is playing on a big TV (which I find particularly attention grabbing). I know people who say they can't concentrate on reading or working without a bit of background noise but I just can't seem to ever 'lose myself' in whatever I'm reading in the same way that I can when I'm sitting in complete silence.
Is it just a case of it getting easier with practice? Are there any techniques I can use to concentrate better?
I like to read and I would like to be able to read in situations where there is some background noise but I find it hard to focus.
I'm mostly reading novels and the specific situations I'm thinking about are; coffee shops with quiet music and people talking, trains/buses and the shared break room at my work where people talk loudly and BBC News 24 is playing on a big TV (which I find particularly attention grabbing). I know people who say they can't concentrate on reading or working without a bit of background noise but I just can't seem to ever 'lose myself' in whatever I'm reading in the same way that I can when I'm sitting in complete silence.
Is it just a case of it getting easier with practice? Are there any techniques I can use to concentrate better?
I'm easily distracted by people talking, etc, as well. It's easier for me to concentrate when i have headphones on with pop music or background noise.
posted by bunderful at 6:24 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by bunderful at 6:24 AM on December 6, 2011
I created a pandora station just for this situation. The key is music that doesn't distract you.. Mine is Johannes Brahms. (But lately that's had some jazz trickling into it.) for you it might be French pop or yodeling.
In quieter moments, practice breath focused meditation. It helps lengthen attention span and improve focus. But learning it in noisy spaces is....not easy.
posted by bilabial at 6:35 AM on December 6, 2011
In quieter moments, practice breath focused meditation. It helps lengthen attention span and improve focus. But learning it in noisy spaces is....not easy.
posted by bilabial at 6:35 AM on December 6, 2011
Those headphones with the rubber plugs at the end do a great job of making everything quiet enough to read (on an NYC subway during rush hour) even when nothing is playing.
If you're going to get noise-cancelling headphones, don't get them with the intention of using them to block out noise while not listening to music though. Unless the technology is different now, they emit an annoying buzz/hiss when being used without anything playing.
posted by griphus at 6:43 AM on December 6, 2011
If you're going to get noise-cancelling headphones, don't get them with the intention of using them to block out noise while not listening to music though. Unless the technology is different now, they emit an annoying buzz/hiss when being used without anything playing.
posted by griphus at 6:43 AM on December 6, 2011
I use simple foam earplugs from CVS or Walgreen's when noise is distracting. They are cheap and come with a plastic carrying case in each box, so you can have a few pairs in different bags/locations. I like the Hearos brand.
posted by Mid at 7:23 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by Mid at 7:23 AM on December 6, 2011
I’ve never used them myself, but I’ve heard that some people use noise generators to “drown” undesired low-volume background noise. SimplyNoise appears to be a popular one.
posted by wachhundfisch at 7:46 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by wachhundfisch at 7:46 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I worked in a cube farm full of chatty co-workers with complicated social lives, the only way I could focus on my stupefyingly boring paperwork was full ear-covering headphones and very specific music. It had to be instrumental only (lyrics were too distracting) with a steady tempo and a calm mood. The Brandenburg Concerti worked best for me - something about the logical, almost mathematical flow of the music put me in the right mental state for reviewing data.
I found that listening to the same thing over and over was also essential. Anything new caught my attention too much, but after a dozen repetitions my brain was trained to associate Bach with "time to work now, we know this music already so we don't have to give it our full attention".
So I suggest getting some earmuff-style headphones and some calm instrumental music, and see if you can train yourself to let the music run in the background while you focus on other tasks.
posted by Quietgal at 7:55 AM on December 6, 2011
I found that listening to the same thing over and over was also essential. Anything new caught my attention too much, but after a dozen repetitions my brain was trained to associate Bach with "time to work now, we know this music already so we don't have to give it our full attention".
So I suggest getting some earmuff-style headphones and some calm instrumental music, and see if you can train yourself to let the music run in the background while you focus on other tasks.
posted by Quietgal at 7:55 AM on December 6, 2011
I have a few intrumental Pandora stations I use for these situations as well. I have a post-rock, jazz trio, Portugese guitar and some others. The key is start with a seed song without lyrics and relentlessly vote down the lyricked songs that come up until Pandora gets the hint.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 7:56 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 7:56 AM on December 6, 2011
If you've an iPhone, download the Sleepmaker All in One app for hundreds of different ambient backgrounds that do not repeat in a predictable manner. Great for reading or sleeping
posted by MangyCarface at 8:03 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by MangyCarface at 8:03 AM on December 6, 2011
I also use electronic noise-cancelling headphones. Music or not, the background noise is really well reduced. As are, incidentally, the phone ring and knocks upon the door, so there are some drawbacks.
griphus I notice some white noise when I first turn them on but it is quickly filtered out. I think the technology is different as well.
posted by zomg at 10:27 AM on December 6, 2011
griphus I notice some white noise when I first turn them on but it is quickly filtered out. I think the technology is different as well.
posted by zomg at 10:27 AM on December 6, 2011
I have found that playing a piece of music you are very familiar with helps. Something you have listened to a zillion times is easier for me to ignore it and let it be in the background and not be distracting.
posted by zzazazz at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by zzazazz at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2011
Another good iPhone app is Naturespace. They have lots of natural environment recordings that are really high quality and some are great for drowning out sound (waves crashing, wind rustling trees etc).
posted by KateViolet at 11:13 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by KateViolet at 11:13 AM on December 6, 2011
I use noise-cancelling earbuds and the White Noise iphone app. I can't concentrate with music or most noises, but white noise helps me focus better than even silence.
posted by Nattie at 12:45 AM on December 7, 2011
posted by Nattie at 12:45 AM on December 7, 2011
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posted by rtha at 6:03 AM on December 6, 2011