Managing Stimuli

    On the subway, a man covered his ears and closed his eyes. He was tired. It was evening rush hour last Friday. The city was Boston.
    Before zoning out, the man had stared into a smartphone. His mind grew weary from a day’s worth of stimuli.
   While traveling, I minimize exposure to the internet. The same applies to music and the radio. Fewer distractions keeps my mind sharp. Fewer diversions enables me to better observe the nuances of people and settings. Creative ideas are more apt to sprout. Less consumption of media helps me as a writer and as a photographer.
    Once I drove from Worcester, Massachusetts to Cleveland, Ohio. Twelve hours. Not once did I listen to the radio or play music. Just me, the road, and my thoughts.
    That trip was boring.
    There’s a lot of cool and creative stuff online. But at some point it all becomes too much. When we over-expose ourselves to creativity, we become less creative.