I admit it. I’m an iPod junkie. I find it difficult to go anywhere without some sort of sonic accompaniment. For me it’s usually an audiobook or podcasts. Sometimes it’s instrumental or sound scape music. Sometimes it’s something a bit more…out there.
But I’ve learned that all of this is not necessarily good for the creative process. My iPod has made it possible to be reading and learning or receiving stimulus nearly 24/7. I know, however, that there is a rhythm to the creative process and that I need to structure peaks and troughs of stimulus just like I structure peaks and troughs of productivity.
Too much stimulus will cause mind freeze. By this I mean the condition in which our minds simply shut down because they cannot handle the stimulus we’re throwing at them. We need to be wary of doing it “just because we can”. We need less structure and more surprises. We need less predictability and more variety.
Think about leaving your iPod in your bag or your radio off on your commute. Think about how much stimulus you take in and when. Be intentionally less intentional about your stimulus. See what you find.
In this interview, 
November 27th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Wow….this post is great. I’ve felt the exact same thing…subtly I think it could be an addiction. When I’m leaving the house to even just go to the grocery store….or commute 30 min to a job…I have that same compulsion to grab my iPod as if I would be grabbing a cell phone….or something to drink if I were thirsty. And when I intentionally leave it behind…I feel a slight sense of absence knowing I’m walking about the door without it. And that’s not good for the creative process. It can assist your process. The iPod can be a fantastic tool for that. But it has to find it’s proper place in the order of your life or else you’re going to fry yourself with dependence upon it.
November 27th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
I find this to be very true. I rarely have music playing the car. I am a big fan of solitude; not isolation but finding time to be quiet and to away from stimulus. This allows what we have already taken in to come to the surface in ways we didn’t expect. We are not all creative in the same way but when we are allowed to listen and act with our own gifts we find our own voice.
Here’s a little quote regarding this from Tozer:
Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength, before going out to face the world again. “The thoughtful soul to solitude retires,” said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? A.W. Tozer (1897-1963)
November 27th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I do this all the time, but people thought I was nuts for not taking my mother up on her offer to pay for cable. Not just basic cable, gold cable ($100 per month).
I find my computer gives me all the TV I need. You must learn to sensor yourself and not take in every of stimuli around. Learn to breathe, take in flowers trees, etc.
However, with a cell phone, I find that these days as a woman, it’s probably the one thing you should take just because of all the negative stuff, (kidnappings, accidents, beatings).
I do carry my mp3/iPod, but I don’t always use them. I have it on me, but I don’t feel the need to put them on unless there’s so guy on the train begging for money . . . and I’ve already given this same guy a dollar two weeks prior! And let’s not forget the preacher who wants to save your soul by asking you to donate to their shelter to save some teenage souls! Yeah, right! Then out comes the headset & the book so I can escape or dream in my own version of technicolour. I even turn off the TV on the weekends and just have music or nothing at all.
Other than this, I find going without is soothing to the soul.
November 28th, 2006 at 6:03 am
For me it’s a matter of contrast and surprise. I feel that when I am walking around with those white earbuds I am closing myself off to (1) potential creative accidents (2) surprise inspiration or learnings. When everything is the same - when I am dictating the soundtrack of my life - there is no contrast. Everything is predictable and I am in charge. When I allow space for silence and surprise, great things tend to happen.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
OK, this topic is near and dear to my creative soul and I have to take it one step further. I’ve had my iPOD glued to my ears for about 3 years now. I love audiobooks and I learned that they help me keep my self from thinking negative thoughts. I hope you know what I mean - stuff like why did so and so get that project, why was the owner so rude… As a distraction strategy, it really works well.
BUT, along with not thinking bad thoughts, my creativity took a nose dive AND I got less articulate. Ideas just stopped popping up. I’m not depressed (don’t get the wrong idea). I just lost interest… Stopped seeing all the wacky things I used to visualize.
Also, if I listened to several books in a row - when I started to talk - I expressed my thoughts with much less clarity, even though I know more than I used to. It’s scary!
Bet you think with all this, I stopped using the iPod -nope!!! I can’t - but I did cut way back!
I’d love to know what others think! Thanks for bringing this up, Todd.