Who is the author of Noise?

Joseph McCormack is the author of Noise.

Management & Leadership

Noise Book Summary - Noise Book explained in key points

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Noise summary

Name: Noise
Rating: 4.4 (125 reviews)
Author: Joseph McCormack

Joseph McCormack

Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus

4.4 (125 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

Noise by Joseph McCormack is a timely book that reveals how the constant bombardment of noise in our lives can harm productivity and relationships. It provides actionable strategies for reducing noise and being more intentional in communication.

Topics

Focus Effectiveness Mindful Work Routines & Habits

Table of Contents

Noise
Summary of 6 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Learn to tune out the world’s distractions.

Today, the ability to concentrate is often hard to come by. Advances in technology have made many things easier – but they’ve made trying to focus much, much harder.

We’re surrounded by nonstop digital chatter. Likes, emails, mentions, and texts constantly clamor for our attention – and it seems we’re finding the temptation increasingly difficult to resist.

The aftermath of all this distraction? Sloppy thinking, aimless living, and dwindling human connection. From diagnosing the problem to taking back control, these blinks set out a brief and compelling plan to reclaim your attention in an age of mass distraction.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why multitasking is like getting high;
why your focus should resemble a flashlight; and
how tech workers are educating their children.

Information overload is damaging our ability to think.

These days, people disagree on many topics, often more fiercely than ever. Whether it concerns our elected representatives, pressing environmental issues, or even just celebrity spats, it seems that there are very few issues that we can all unite behind.

But what about the topic of information? The more information you consume, the smarter you are. And the smarter you are, the better. Right? Surely that isn’t controversial?

Well, it might be time to reconsider.

The key message here is: Information overload is damaging our ability to think.

You see, these days, we actually suffer from an excess of information. Whether it’s a stream of incoming messages or a frantic, never-ending newsfeed, most of us are inundated with irrelevant information from morning till night.

Now, this is more than just a minor nuisance. When we subject our minds to this informational onslaught, we actually prevent them from working at full capacity.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that your mind needs nutrition, just as your body does – so when you hop from one screen to another, skimming information and never really settling down, you actually undernourish your brain.

By keeping things superficial, you fail to consume anything of substance – and, like living on soda and popcorn, this can weaken your mind over time.

The more you consume information in this manner, the more your brain starts to adapt to constant, novel information. Instead of being content to settle down and engage with a task properly, your mind learns to expect hit after hit of gratifying but ultimately superficial stimulation.

Tweets, emails, snaps, you name it – they all rewire your brain and train it to anticipate constant interruptions.

You might think there is nothing inherently wrong with that. After all, you can multitask! Interruptions don’t really bother you – right? Well, not exactly. Glenn Wilson, a professor of psychology at Gresham College in London, estimates that multitasking depletes our IQ by 10 points. In fact, he’s argued that your cognitive skills take a sharper dip when you try to multitask than when you smoke marijuana.

You probably wouldn’t want to make important life decisions and business deals while high on drugs. So why would you try to do it while fending off a barrage of attention-sapping information?

Divided attention harms our ability to communicate and connect.

How many times have you come across a scene like this: you’re out at a nice restaurant or bar, and the atmosphere is electric. You look around, and everybody seems to be having fun. Everybody, that is, apart from one group.

While the people at all the other tables are chatting, eating, and enjoying each other’s company, one group is sitting in near-total silence with their heads bent over their phones.

Managing your awareness is the first step in taking back control.

Think back over the course of your life and try to remember all the hours you’ve spent staring at a screen. Time spent scrolling through newsfeeds, watching videos, and fielding various insignificant messages.

If you’re like most people, you’ll probably find it difficult to pinpoint any very precise memories. Most likely, all you'll remember is a general haze of information forgotten, goals missed, and hours misspent.

Tune into what’s paramount and disregard everything else.

If you’re at a party trying to make small talk, you probably shouldn’t open conversations with a deep, probing question like, “What’s the most important thing in your life?” If you’re lucky, you’ll get some interesting answers – but more likely than not, you’ll just trigger an awkward silence and some embarrassed laughs.

The thing is, most people avoid answering this question even when they’re alone with their own thoughts. They struggle to articulate their highest aims and their long-term dreams – a fact with some unfortunate consequences.

Forming just a few new habits will make it easier to mute the noise in your life.

Avoiding information overload might seem like a constant uphill battle – an eternal slog that never gets any easier and grinds you down over time. But that’s just not true.

Even though today’s tech-heavy society might make things difficult for us, muting the world’s buzz can actually grow less difficult with time.

Honing your communication skills can help keep a distractible audience focused.

So, you get it. The world has never been noisier. There have never been more demands on our attention and fewer ways to escape the constant distractions.

Up until this point, we’ve only discussed what you can do to control your own attention. But there are also ways you can use this information to deal with other people.

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What is Noise about?

Noise (2019) is an antidote to our distracted times. In an age of shrinking attention spans and divided focus, it shows us how to reclaim our natural powers of concentration.

Noise Review

Noise (2019) by Joseph McCormack is a book that explores the impact of excessive communication and information overload in our lives, and provides strategies to cut through the noise. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It offers practical solutions to manage and filter the overwhelming amount of information we are exposed to daily, helping us regain focus and improve productivity.
Backed by research and real-life examples, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the negative effects of noise on our mental well-being and relationships.
The book's engaging storytelling makes it a compelling read, shedding light on the importance of clear communication and the benefits of embracing silence.

Best quote from Noise

Our brains are being barraged, and it is seriously affecting a broad spectrum of society.

—Joseph McCormack

Who should read Noise?

Tech addicts trying to break their bad habits
Procrastinators who need to rediscover their ability to focus
Leaders interested in distraction-proof communication

About the Author

Joseph McCormack is an entrepreneur, author, and marketing executive. He runs the BRIEF Lab, which offers courses in effective communication. He also produces a podcast series called Just Saying and is the author of Brief (2014).

Categories with Noise

Management & Leadership Productivity

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