There have many loud noises coming from a neighbour’s home today. Their place is being renovated, so my spouse and I have been hearing the sound of hammers tapping the wall, tools being dropped, and all kinds of thuds and crashes that I can’t identify.
Look at the lemur on your left if you want to see the kinds of faces I’ve been making when the banging suddenly intensifies.
This is one of the few things that I genuinely dislike about living in the city.
It’s completely necessary noise, of course, but it’s also distracting when I’m trying to write. I wish I could go wrap their walls in some kind of sound-proofing material until the renovations are complete.
Until then, I’m wearing ear plugs and trying to plan my schedule in such a way that I get regular breaks from all of the sounds leaking through the walls.
I’ve also been trying to figure out what some of the most jarring noises are. Did one of the tradespeople over there pass out from breathing paint fumes? (I sure hope not!) Are they playing some kind of game that involves throwing every tool they own on the floor to see which ones bounce? Is someone challenging a colleague to a tap dance competition? Have they decided to rip out a wall or three? Did an angry dragon follow someone to work today, and is it trying to start another war with humankind? If so, which side is winning?
The possibilities are endless.
How do you deal with distractions when you’re working?