I have conundrum. I have three young kids but I can't write without silence. It's gotten so bad, any time my husband is home, I retreat to the solace of my room upstairs and he teases me about never seeing him anymore. In the day I've been reduced to "mommy's quiet time" when the kids have to play upstairs or in the backyard, but I'd rather be near my family (and make sure they aren't getting into mischief). And I would love to snuggle next to my husband whilst he watches whatever he wants without me being disturbed. Right now though, my options are be a recluse or be unproductive. Earplugs hurt. Music prevents me from concentrating. White noise is great, but not enough to cancel out a rousing game of angry birds and two toddlers bickering. But the last thing I want to do is drop $150 on a pair of noise cancelling headphones that the kids will destroy in a month or that will hurt worse than earplugs. What are your experiences with them? Do they hold up to mild abuse and can you stand wearing them for hours at a time? Any other options that work for you?
Have you considered a different genre of music, something less distracting? I also have a couple different CDs that have sounds of a rain forest, ocean waves and the noises from a swamp. They are very relaxing.
I listen to instrumental songs only, and they have to be uncomfortably loud to get any benefit, and that makes it more annoying than helpful. White noise is great, but again, I don't want it so loud it interferes. I've just discovered simplyrain, but it can't cancel out the kiddos. Guess I have a low tolerance for noise, which is ironic considering how loud my house is.
I wear my Razer Kraken headphones half the day. They are comfortable and pretty tough. The also have excellent noise cancellation and are not expensive. http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-kraken
I like that they state they are durable, but are they actually noise-cancelling or just noise-isolating? I don't see it listed.
What kind of earplugs are you wearing? I've worn ones that hurt, and ones that I don't even notice - might be worth experimenting with a few different kinds.
I would suggest headphones. I can usually block all of the sound out with my own, but then again if you have kids blocking the noise out completely may not be the wisest choice.
Have you tried differently shaped earbuds? Some of them I can't stand, and some of them I barely notice. I'm sure there are a lot of headphones out there too that might help - looks like other people have already suggested some. My number one tip would have to be to find some music that is almost like white noise. If I need to concentrate and a bunch of noise is around me, I've found that instrument music with a repetitive beat really works the best and depending on my mood I usually turn to Deadmau5. Their music is instrumental, simple, repetitive, and the songs are really long so less time switching back and forth to youtube.
earbuds (those in-ear headphones) damage your hearing further, you would better off with on ear headphones, i picked up my pair of Motörheadphönes for £20 in a music store chain here in the UK, you might be able to find a stockist where you are!
I've been listening to the Writing Excuses podcast (go and google it). Their advise for this situation is to talk and discuss it with your spouse and your children. When mommy is in her writing room, no one is allowed to go inside and bother you. Establish a time for writing and let your family know what they are. For me, I live with my husband, and we are crammed in a one bedroom apartment. My writing area is our bedroom, and he's at the living room working out and playing some video games. He sometimes teases me when he goes inside, but I do tell him that I need some writing time. I have mine set at two hours. So once I'm done with my writing session, we hangout and watch our shows. As for noise, maybe you can purchase those noise-cancelling headphones. Cheapest one I can find by googling is $35. Pricey ones go for $200. Think of them as investments if you really need your peace and quiet. For me, I work best when there's music in the background.
Hi Artist369, I really do feel for you and identify with your problem 100%. My kids are older now and I don't need them in earshot anymore, but I vividly remember how hard that was. The problem, unfortunately, is that there isn't an easy answer. You can tell them you have Mommy Time at a specific hour of the day but toddlers don't necessarily understand that, and if a catastrophe should happen (minor or major, it doesn't matter) the Mommy time will be shot to hell anyway. The only way I could ever find to concentrate on difficult tasks (and I had three close in age, also) was to: 1) Work while they napped 2) Stay up late and work when they were in bed 3) Get up early and work while they were in bed 4) Have a designated time during the week/day when someone I knew could babysit and I could be assured of uninterrupted time 5) Just learn (somehow) to work at the same time they were doing what they were doing. This of course involved becoming a superhuman Multi-Tasker, but as a mother you know you're generally doomed to SuperHuman-hood anyway. I don't know if this helps, but do be aware that it won't last forever. The kids will grow and so will you, and believe it or not there will come a time when you don't have to watch them so much, and you won't be chronically exhausted. And as far as the husband time goes, you're probably on your own with that one. Having family nearby does help, but there's still no silver bullet for alone time. You'll find a way to work through it, and that, too, will get better in the end. Good Luck!
