“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients.” – Herbert A. Simon
We are at a stage right now where the digital world is developing at high speed. However, many people are experiencing problems like digital fatigue and a shortened attention span. Some people haven’t read a book in three years, and have trouble focusing on something for an extended amount of time. In order to change this, you need to embrace the no noise lifestyle.
The No Noise Lifestyle | Why We’re Drowning in Digital Noise
The main reason many of us are struggling, including me, is because we were introduced to this digital world without proper instructions. When we installed Instagram or TikTok, we did not know the consequences of watching reels for four hours a day. We only thought it was funny and entertaining.
“The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee
The Hidden Cost of Passive Consumption
Another problem that it brings is that we are in a passive state when we are endlessly scrolling. This means that our life will be harder, because only action is what brings us closer to our goals and dreams. In the moment, it might seem innocent. But years later, after spending most of our lives scrolling instead of building and creating, we are absolutely not where we want to be.
“It is not enough to be busy… The question is: what are we busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau
Sometimes we are not even aware of the possibilities there are when we do take action, and remove ourselves from this noise. The reason I call it noise, is because it disables your ability to think with clarity. When you experience silence, you gain clarity. And in our modern society, that silence is rare.
“Where attention goes, energy flows and results show.” – T. Harv Eker
Which means you have to actively take responsibility of your life, and create an environment for yourself that removes you from the noise, and creates space for deep reflection, creative expression, learning, and most importantly, action.
Create Space in Digital Systems
Now removing the noise does not mean that you can not use social media or AI, or any other digital tool. It means that you make use of the digital world in a conscious way. Just like you create space in your house, you create space in your digital systems.
Since we have all of this technology, we can make use of it. We do not have to avoid it, but learn how to work with it. That means you can consume content, but in a way that enables you to learn more and create better.
Only if you manage to design your lifestyle in a way that removes the distractions, will you be able to fulfill your dreams and have the success that you deserve.
So we need to build a No Noise Lifestyle. And there are two parts that are essential for building this:
Remove the distractions in your life. The things that are holding you back from fulfilling your potential
Design a digital environment that is optimized for learning, creating, taking action, and continuous improvement
As you will see, these steps will at some point merge into one another, because they enhance each other.
Step 1: Remove the Biggest Distractions
The first step is removing the distractions in your life. This is a very broad concept, but you can dissect this into small actionable steps. To start with, remove the biggest distraction in your life that is taking away the most amount of time and energy.
“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.” – William James
For most people who want to make a change, this means narrowing down the amount of social media apps you use. I deleted TikTok and Instagram, and I instantly got more time and energy to focus on learning and creating my online business. I kept Youtube because I use it to learn about different topics and to get inspiration for my own channel.
This totally depends on your own preference. If you get inspiration from Instagram, and you create your own posts on Instagram, then keep it. But the main point is to notice when you are actually learning and feeling inspired to create, and to narrow it down to those sources.
Consuming Consciously
But that leaves one question: How do you learn to create content if you delete social media apps? To be honest, you do not actually have to consume content on social media in order to create. You can learn how to create content just as much by reading books, listening to audiobooks and taking action.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
Once you are not exposed to the noise on your phone anymore, not only do you have more focus, you generally feel less tempted to buy things on impulse, and you save more money that you can invest in your business or financial future.
To take it a step further, you could be removing distractions from other places in your life like cable television, and change them for a different activity instead. You can still choose to watch a movie from time to time, but now you watch it with intention.
Step 2: Design Your Digital Environment
Next you need to design your digital environment just like you would design your house. You need to organize things and create space, and there are a lot of digital tools that can help you with that. The best thing I’ve experienced, is having a knowledge system, or as Tiago Forte would call a ‘Second Brain’.
Building Your Second Brain
This is a place where you store your ideas, inspiration, findings, and things that excite you when you consume them. Because the things that you consume on a daily basis (and that is an increasing number) are the source for your creations.
Once you write something down, whether on your journal or in a digital system, you create more space in your head. You consume content in a more intentional way, because you are actively doing something with it, instead of just watching. Besides that, you have access to your biggest moments of inspiration.
“Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action.” – Napoleon Hill
The important thing with a knowledge system is to keep it simple, and avoid overcomplexity. But it can be a great asset if you are a creator, entrepreneur or knowledge worker in general.
However, taking action is the most important thing, and a knowledge system should support action, not be the goal itself.
Finding Balance in a Hyperconnected World
The main purpose of building the No Noise Lifestyle, is that you take proper care of yourself. Just like you do with your physical body when training at the gym. You need to feed your brain the right nutrition, and not overload it.
“The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business — or almost anywhere else for that matter.” – Lee Iacocca
The key thing here is balance. There is no right or wrong, you have to find out what works for you and what doesn’t. But designing a physical and digital space that is optimized for creating, learning and rest can have a very positive impact on your life.
I hope you found this article useful. Check out my other blog post Breaking Free from Digital Overconsumption.
Also check out my youtube channel Mart Bergsma
Have a calm day,
Mart Bergsma
