Working from home is the epitome of convenience and comfort. However, it also requires a level of discipline to remain distraction free. While it may seem easy to avoid larger tasks like cleaning the bathroom, smaller distractions exist. For example, my house currently has a singing fridge and a cable box hum. Conquering environmental sounds requires the benefits of white noise.
Podcasts
Depending on how you work, podcasts are a fantastic way to multitask. They offer the benefits of white noise and the added knowledge. Listening to business podcasts, for example, keeps you abreast with trends. Unfortunately, they don’t work well for me.
Since I write, I sometimes find myself transcribing random words from podcasts into the piece. That certainly makes editing an exciting challenge, so I’ve been avoiding listening unless I’m doing a mindless backend task.
Music
Music is a stellar way to focus if the right music is selected. Of course, this will vary from person to person. I enjoy folk and instrumental music during my workday even though that’s not what I listen to elsewhere. I find the words if there are any just blend into the instrumental pieces once I’ve focused on my work.
In my case, musical noise at a low volume works well. However, it required some genre hopping to find the benefits of white noise in music.
White Noise Generators
Another practical choice is a white noise generator. In many cases, these are identical to the devices used to promote sleep. White noise uses many different frequencies played at equal intensities. This means the brain doesn’t grab onto any one sound, and it minimizes the chance of random occurrence (like car alarms) breaking your concentration.
White noise generators succeed for many people where other types of noise fail. In this case, the benefits of white noise machines are just more universally applicable.
Parting Thoughts
When you work from home, it’s easy for everyday noise to become distracting. Even the best focusers can be caught off guard and let their minds wander. That’s where the benefits of white noise help the most.