Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. However, loud noises are a serious distraction for me. I am a very curious person by nature. For the most part I think it is a good thing. I also think that at times it can be a negative thing. This is because whenever I hear a noise that I am not familiar with, my brain instantly switches to “figure out what that was,” mode. Most of the time I have the self-control to not actually drop what I’m doing, get up, and go investigate. Though, the mental distraction can sometimes be just as detrimental to whatever I was previously working on.
The office I work in is pretty old. It has been in Portland since the early 1900s and was originally the power station that supplied energy to all the street cars. Our office is on the second floor of the building and has huge, two story glass windows on all sides. The problem for me is that they are all old, single pane glass. That combined with only being one floor off the ground can make for some noisiness. Constant beeping, alarms, car engines, sirens, barking and even people talking loudly are things I struggle with every day. And the crows across the street. Don’t even get me started on the crows. Loud noises are definitely my kryptonite when trying to get work done. When I find my mind wandering too much I typically throw in the ear buds to try and fight the curiosity.
Very interesting post, and I like the gif. very much. However, I have a very high tolerance of noise. As a matter of fact, I am often distracted by myself when I work in too quiet an environment. That is why I prefer to study at Starbucks! How different are people, right?
Firstly, I would like to say how much I appreciated your “loud noises” reference. Brick is arguably the best newsman. I also understand the distraction of loud noises. Humans are naturally curious, so whenever I hear something I tend to have the need to check it out. In addition, I use this distraction to stop what I’m doing and not only find the source of the noise, but also to doing to take a break.
Loud noises of any sort can be a distraction for me as well because it causes my mind to become curious about what the source is. Although, complete silence can be hard for me to work in because every sound is amplified as a result of the quiet setting. Headphones sometimes help, but frequently I become too concerned with the music I am listening to instead of what schoolwork I am working on.