Why I Stopped Listening to Podcasts in the Shower

Welcome to The Purpose Memo, a newsletter where I give you ideas for wrestling your life back from digital technology and living a principled life. 

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Read time: 4 minutes

“No one pursuit can be successfully followed by a man who is preoccupied with many things… since the mind, when distracted, takes in nothing very deeply, but rejects everything that is, as it were, crammed into it. There is nothing the busy man is less busied with than living: there is nothing that is harder to learn.” 

Seneca

An interesting pattern has emerged in my life over the last few months.

As I’ve reduced my intake of visual content via digital mediums, I’ve simultaneously increased my consumption of auditory content from the same devices.

Here is a list of activities that I’ve begun to habitually supplement with whatever podcast I’m in the mood for:

Perhaps it’s a general worry that I’m not consuming enough content. Or maybe the feeling that each activity by itself isn’t “enough” unless it’s augmented with an additional stimulant… but the urge is strong.

Ironically, I know better. In my estimation, the advantages of occasionally letting your mind operate in undistracted silence are clear and obvious. Plenty of smart people have made this point, and I’ve been thinking about these concepts for years. It’s good for us to take breaks from the endless stream of mental inputs available at the tap of a screen.

But there’s a difference between saying something is true and behaving as if it is true.

The former makes you sound smart. The latter changes your life.

A few weeks ago, I was having trouble visualizing what I wanted for the next few newsletters. I had spent sparse time here and there mulling things over, but wasn’t able to land on an idea or framework I liked.

Then I realized something: I could take my own advice.

Have you ever started a casual habit on a whim only to realize later on that you’ve been doing it religiously for months and can hardly remember a time when you didn’t do it? This happened to me with my morning routine. Like clockwork, I’d play a podcast right before I got in the shower and keep it playing until I was done getting ready for the day.

So the next morning, I chose a silent shower. No podcasts.

I stood under the water with one single objective: figure out a direction for the upcoming newsletters.

Seven minutes in, I had the entire framework for the next four weeks perfectly visualized.

The precise moment I intentionally gave my brain a problem and removed all other cognitive inputs, it was solved in minutes.

Then another thought occurred to me…

How much creativity and problem-solving have I been sacrificing because of my uncomfortability with boredom?

Probably more than I’d like to admit.

Ask yourself these two questions:

Is it a walk? A commute? A quiet shower? Test and see.

Your brain has tons of latent potential that is being squeezed out by your tendency to avoid the quiet.

Create the right environment and watch it go to work. The solution might be closer than you think.

Side note: When you do voluntary embrace boredom, make sure you have something to write with (see #4). Good ideas can be like butterflies—they’ll land on you gently for a moment and then flutter away.

Thanks for reading!

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See you next week.

PW