Wow. It’s been over fourteen years since the last time I wrote a post on this blog. In those fourteen years, the world has changed, and so have I. So this isn’t going to be a technical post, it’s going to be personal.
One of those subtle changes that quietly crept into my life over the years was filling the silence. As responsibilities piled up, free time became scarce. Almost without realizing it, I started filling every quiet moment with podcasts, audiobooks, or social media. Whether I was at the gym, cooking, or cleaning, there was often something playing in my headphones. Eventually, I built a habit: whenever it was quiet, my immediate instinct was to turn something on.
That’s one of the biggest differences between what my days look like now and what they looked like a decade ago. I used to talk to myself a lot more.
I’m a slow thinker, like really slow. It takes a few minutes just to get my thoughts moving in a direction. But once they pick up momentum, I can easily spend fifteen or thirty minutes exploring an idea, weighing different options and I genuinely enjoy it. My thoughts might not be as grand or groundbreaking as all those experts online, but it’s my voice. Nobody else has access to it. And it’s an important part of my life.
In my day job, I do mental work, and during conversations with others, I focus on listening or sharing what I already know, experienced or thought through. Neither of those gives me the space for slow, unhurried thinking. So my routine became a loop of focus and meetings, leaving me with zero time to actually hear myself.
Recently, as I reached for the play button out of habit, I stopped. I thought: what if I just do this chore in silence today?
At first, it felt uncomfortable. But after a moment, my thoughts started to flow. And it felt so much better than drowning them out with another podcast. I missed that voice. And I’m glad it’s still there.
If you’re someone who somehow lost their inner voice along the way (maybe without even realizing it) give yourself a shot. Don’t play anything in the background, don’t turn on your favorite show. Just sit in silence for a moment and see what happens. You might actually like it.
Yea this is a good one but it can be so hard. Seems obvious that constant information streaming outside of silencing your own thoughts also makes the moments where you do have to sit in silence lower quality.
I recently listened to the Hammock Driven Development talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f84n5oFoZBc) and it raises the very interesting point that it’s not really the concious mind that makes big breakthroughs on hard problems, it’s mainly the subconcious mind synthesizing information. It seems obvious to me that constantly intaking information will ruin this synthesization.
Sadly for some reason our brain loves filling the silence with junk…
This blog is older than I am! Very glad I found this on hn, nice small thoughtful piece and I enjoyed it! I’ll start blogging eventually…
Hey….great to be back at something after 14 years. Its like revisiting a place and recollecting memories after those many years.
What do you do for work?
I love it. I need it.
I always find myself looking for a “mind escape” during everyday chores – whether I’m commuting, washing dishes, doing laundry, running, buying groceries, or even just trying to fall asleep. It’s gotten to the point where my neighbors literally ask me why I constantly have headphones on.
Your post made me realize how highly related this is to the concept of “digital minimalism” and the true importance of solitude. With the Hebrew year coming to an end, it feels like the perfect timing to reflect on this, slow down, and actually start practicing it.
Interesting. There is a idea called “slow food”. What about “slow programming”? Why does everyone want a fast computer? To write fast software you have to use slow computers, slowly.
Interesting that your blog cant count. It says there are 0 thoughts about you post when there is 1. Oh Well.
Once you clear the noise of your ‘nagging’ thoughts (do I need to go to the shop to pick up milk, etc etc) Out of that noise comes clear thought, it’s almost like there is more room for those expansive thoughts.
I’ve been experiencing the same, and couldn’t figure out for quite a while why I didn’t have the “mental space” to write since my last book (7 years ago now).
I did find that a soft way to do that transition from constant headphone-mode to returning to silence, was to start replacing the podcasts and other “content” with music.
Specifically, I listen to music in a language I don’t speak yet (but intend to learn), which has just the right balance of “not occupying my brain much and leaving space to think”, while creating the opportunity of immersion as I learn more vocabulary.
Sebastien
great post.
Welcome back. This was a very thoughtful post. I agree that we don’t get enough silence these days and I applaud your efforts.
Something I’ve rediscovered that helps me, is returning to writing longhand with a gel pen on paper. No background music. I write whatever comes to mind, in no hurry to produce anything. In a landscape of noise and speed, I find it therapeutic.
way to hang in there.
I love doing things in silence. Working on a chore? A hobby? Going for a long run? A long bicycle ride? Going somewhere in the car? All quietly, please. When I was 20-something, I’d mostly wouldn’t have done that, now, it’s all just irritating noise.
When you listen to {crap} while doing stuff (even just going for a walk), you completely miss the opportunity to have significant thoughts about who you are, what you want to do, what the things are that bother you, many etc.
It’s good to hear there are others who feel this way. Spread the news!