THE NOISE FLOOR

I like lists. I like reading people’s lists. So, I wanted to write a list, but it won’t be the typical digest that you’re used to.

Productivity and wellness articles hand you a curated list of everything they’d recommend. It passed their sniff test, and it’s ready for your consumption. A list of yeses. My list is (mostly) the opposite of that.

My career at Safety & Mission Assurance is about logic and people. Specifically, the ability to detect signals worth digging into and those that are just noise. And when you’re working on a machine and organization as complex as sending up humans into space or the latest telescopes and rovers, well, there’s always something pinging. My job is to tell them apart.

This list isn’t what I’m recommending - it’s everything that pinged me lately and what I actually did with it: What I let go, what I let through, what I missed, and what I chased but shouldn’t have. Most of it is a no. The few yeses are the point.

Here we go.

Most Productivity emails. I subscribe to tons of them, because I can’t resist! Mark Manson, James Clear, Tim Ferriss, and so many more. But when they show up in my inbox, I hit delete. Grind more? Who’s got the time.

The Pump (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s). Always science first, which I respect. But getting long and length is a luxury. I skim for headlines of personal interest and let go of most of them.

Political texts from friends. I read but end up not replying. What gets replies are health, VO2, when are we hanging out, what did you think about the Spider-Man movie, and, of course, dad jokes. Tuned for building, not venting.

Window shopping at Lululemon and Tommy Bahamas, good sales, walked out with nothing. My wardrobe rule is simple: one in, one out. Didn’t see anything worth displacing what I already have.

Dungeon Crawler Carl. Viral book series that’s getting adapted to television. Lots of friends are recommending it, but can’t bring myself to read a jokey sci-fi book. A rare no against the crowd.

The Rundown. A daily AI email that I open every single day. Same format, one major headline, one real workflow from a real person, no bloat. It gets through because it respects my attention.

Yes to Polar H10, no to Apple Watch. Said yes to a chest heart rate strap that’ll give me specific data for my fitness goals. Said no to a device that would add more pings to my life. Chose the tool that delivers the signal I want and then goes quiet.

Work trips, but after real scrutiny. Traveling on the company’s dime might sound like fun, but the real cost is being away from the family. This is a priced yes.

Cal Newport newsletter. Not to agree, rather to think against. Great counter signal to sharpen my ideas.

The apology tour. Made a gross error in judgement at work, and went on a bender of apologies to salvage relationships. The ping came in loud, sat with it overnight, and by the next day had completed my apology tour. Some pings can’t be ignored.

Time outdoors. After dinner and before bedtime is a tiny sweet spot to go for a walk with the family.

My kiddos are getting funnier by the day. At age 3 and 1, the things they do and say are ramping up. My toddler has said recently that some of the kids in her daycare are in jail because they’re not listening to the teacher. Harsh.

And something shifted within myself where I’m finding myself more present for the moments I am with them. Brushing teeth, bathing, peeing, whatever it is. I don’t even consider time with them as pings; it’s just time together.

Okay. Back to the pings.

Stretching. I know to stretch before AND after working out. I also stretch at night, before crawling into bed. I’ve been cutting all of them short lately. My stiff body has been giving me subtle pings and now my knees are joining the chorus.

The next friend hangout. There’s none in sight and that’s the quiet ping that’s building.

Colleagues that I keep deprioritizing. I need to stop being in my office all day on virtual calls because there are pings coming from outside my door.

Those few minutes before bedtime. Maybe it’s 10 minutes of TV, then a few minutes of solitaire, followed by catching up on the news, and of course, an article that catches my eye. Thirty minutes later, I realized I could have thirty more minutes of sleep.

Decompression unicorn. Ah, that mythical feeling of arriving home rested, especially since I have a 40-minute commute to achieve it. And so, I cram in a call with my wife, an audiobook, even AI voice brainstorming for my next article.

Here’s what I noticed. Everything I missed involved my body or a person. They were quiet pings that I didn’t hear at first. And everything I chased involved a screen or content. Turns out I’m pretty good at saying no to things but quietly bad at saying yes to whatever doesn’t raise its voice.

So the question I’ll let simmer in the back of my mind: is the same filter that’s great at ignoring shiny objects also ignoring the quiet people in my life? What’s your filter tuned to, and what pings are you letting in or letting go?

Tell me what pings you’ve missed or chased. Or just leave a heart. ;)

“Looks like nothing on the agenda and it’ll be a normal day.

Today I am enjoying the mundane.”

- from my AffirmStreak this morning