> I agree completely.
> preferring to listen to music or podcasts with intent now: eg to enjoy some music, not just passively.
That's the opposite of what parent suggested.
Instead, when I listen to music, it’s usually by sitting down deliberately to exclusively listen to music. The music isn’t idle background noise but rather the point of that activity. I enjoy music a lot more now, I find.
In general I try to have silence where in the past I would have had audio playing in the background. So definitely while walking but also while working (since I’m working from home and don’t need to drown out office noises).
I'm more a mind wanderer, though for a season I tried to mentally prepare myself for the transition from being at a controlled work environment to walking into a house with two young kids at the end of the day.
I used to listen to music and stuff a lot while walking or even commuting but a few years ago I decided to give up on most idle listening, preferring to listen to music or podcasts with intent now: eg to enjoy some music, not just passively.
I used to walk a lot (I still walk a good bit but because I work from home I don’t walk to work each day anymore) and I found the quiet time to be the best time to come up with solutions to problems, to reflect on my life or day, to just wind down and switch off, to enjoy nature (when I walk to walk, as opposed to walking to reaching a destination, I typically walk along a river near my home). I think we are overstimulated far far too much and some quiet time and boredom is good for the brain and certainly it’s good for creativity.