Every day of a person living in the 21st century – it’s dozens of phone calls, text messages, and notifications.
This is why we often complain that we do not have enough time for more important things. To avoid this, you need to learn to filter out the noise and enjoy peace and quiet. Sometimes it seems that our lives are filled with busyness, noise, constantly distracting factors, and pointless activities. What if you can filter out all that noise and focus on what’s really important? What if constant distractions can be changed to rest? More, most of us can do. This opinion is shared by the famous psychologist and writer Leo Babauta.
Based on his own experience, he noted that most of the noise occurs at our own request. But over the years, we’ve become too accustomed to these patterns, so we don’t think we can change them. Leo Babauta knows how to filter noise and find peace and meaning.
Methods of noise filtering
Spend today to notice the noise in your life. Take some time to make a list, adding an item to it every time you find a distraction or useless activity. For example, in my life noise is email, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Twitter, blogs, and other sites I love to read, text messages, Slack, and browsing Netflix. You may have other sources: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, news, cable TV. What to do after you find the noise? Filter. You need to understand that most of all you want peace. It’s important enough to “miss” some things in these noisy channels.
Next, you need to take a number of measures:
Turn off notifications – the more, the better. Decide to open some applications (for example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) only once a day. Others can check two or three times a day if necessary (such as Email or Slack). But set a limit.
Delete accounts or applications that have no real value (for example, VKontakte).
Unsubscribe from any emails. If you use an RSS reader, unsubscribe from most subscriptions. Leave only a few that are really important.
Let people know that you will only check messages once a day. Don’t use an autoresponder – it annoys me, for example. Instead, simply send a message to the people who matter most to you and ask for understanding in your decision. Set the exact time each day you watch TV or movies (if you watch at all). Set the time of day when you read news or blogs (if you read). If you say, “I only watch TV after 7 pm,” then you are limiting the space it occupies in your life.
If there are things (such as e-mail) where you need to stay in touch through work, try negotiating “shutdown” periods with your boss or colleagues. For example, ask for a few hours in the morning and in the afternoon to focus on more important work.
If you follow these steps, you will filter out most of the noise. What’s left? Time for silence, peace, concentration, and meaning.
Search for peace and meaning
After you filter out the noise, you will have some interesting problems:
• Change your habits to do useless things and be constantly on the move.
• Find out what matters.
• Learn to stop and stay still.
• I think these are great problems. Most people don’t even think about them. Be grateful that you have the opportunity to work on them.
Take some time to notice your constant need for imaginary employment or entertainment. For example, what are you trying to do out of habit when you’re not doing anything – standing in line, sitting alone at a table in a restaurant while your friend goes to the bathroom, sitting on the couch? This is your pattern of meaningless actions and movements.
Now see if you can get rid of these patterns. Catch yourself on this and make a choice in favor of peace and quiet. Try to just sit and pay attention to what is around you. Enjoy this moment. Meditate, immersing yourself in your breath. Analyze your day. Ask yourself what you are grateful for right now.
Start building new peace patterns. For example, try morning meditation by breathing for at least a few minutes every day. Try going for a morning or evening walk without a phone. Try turning off your phone and computer and just keep a diary.
Start looking for activities that are more important to you. You don’t have to try to do it in one day – you can experiment slowly to find out what makes sense to you. You can start writing a book or screenplay, taking photos, drawing, or writing music. You can start a business or do charity that changes the world. You can start learning something important or teaching others. Find ways to help others and make the world a better place. Keep a diary, meditate, exercise exercise, eat healthily, get rid of junk, meet people who are important to you.
When you notice that you want to do something insignificant, stop. Instead, do something that aims to achieve peace and meaning. Build your life around them, and soon you will notice serious changes.
