“Indistinct Chatter”

I was watching a TV show the other night, and it had closed captioning. The two main characters were talking, and behind them were background actors who were also talking—but you couldn’t really hear what they were saying. The closed captioning, in brackets, simply said: [indistinct chatter].

It made me think about all the indistinct chatter in our own lives—the kind of background noise that can steal our attention or our time in subtle ways.

So I wanted to offer three ways to reduce the indistinct chatter in your life:

1. Develop a meditation practice.
   Training yourself to become more focused and centered doesn’t completely eliminate the noise, but it strengthens your ability to come back to your breath and refocus your attention inward.
2. Notice what’s right in front of you.
   Before I saw the caption [indistinct chatter], I wasn’t paying attention to it—I was focused on the main characters. It’s a reminder that we choose where our attention goes. Choosing deliberately makes a big difference.
3. Capture stray thoughts with a system.
   When ideas pop into your mind, have a method to capture them. I use an app called Brain Toss to quickly record thoughts—it sends them to my email so I can review them later. Whether it’s an app, notebook, or voice memo, having a capture system can help you clear mental space.

If you try these ideas—or use your own methods—you can reduce the indistinct chatter in your life and enjoy more of what really matters.