On Working Without Headphones

I forgot my headphones this morning. At time of writing, I have already endured an entire morning without music (excluding the Titus Andronicus album that I was listening to in the car), and I'll still be here for a few hours yet.

Okay, okay, I realise that this is about as #firstworld as problems get - many people don't have the option of listening to music while they work, and I should be grateful to know that, as long as I remember my cans tomorrow morning, I can immerse myself in Damien Rice and The Hidden Cameras for the rest of the week.

But even so, it's a very strange day when I can actually hear everything that's going on around me. Headphones don't just grant me the luxury of listening to Christmas songs all day; they also keep me from getting involved in all the conversations that fly back and forth across the office, and for this reason, I think they actually do help my productivity as well as my general mood.

Ugh - look at me, all sounding like a LinkedIn article. Really, the main reason I like wearing headphones is that I can then measure my day in albums, rather than tasks. Here's a typical thought from my working day:

"Okay, it's half three now, so if I listen to Days of Abandon and then Benji it'll pretty much be time to leave by the end of the Sun Kil Moon album. Awesome! I'm only two albums away from home time!"

That's how my mind works. Also, I hardly need to point out that time goes faster when you're in the act of listening to an album, particularly one you already know. If you're aware of which song is next, and which song is after that, then the whole record becomes like the giant contraption from Mouse Trap - it doesn't matter that the album is nearly an hour long, it feels like time is racing by as each section swings into the next.

So that's why I'm annoyed at myself for leaving the 'phones at home. I'm hoping that, having written all of this, I'll remember to bring them tomorrow - if not, I may just have to hum some Hidden Cameras hits to myself while I work.