The quieter you can make your surroundings—intentionally—the better your introverted brain will function on your behalf.

In the radio industry, drive time refers to the hectic, overstimulating morning and evening hours when you commute to and from work, whether it’s in your own vehicle or via public transportation.

Radio stations, especially larger-market operations on the FM side of the dial, use this time to offer up hectic, overstimulating programming (think “___ and ___ in the Morning!” or “Traffic on the 8’s!”) that feeds on itself—and you—to perpetuate a hectic, overstimulating environment.

One we are too quick to accept as normal.

As the only way.

It isn’t.

When Quiet Transcends the Noise

Not long ago, my family and I returned from a road trip to Texas.

I drove most of the 3,274 miles and 47 hours of it.

And I did the whole thing on my version of drive time: without listening to the radio … or to music … or to a podcast … or to anything else but the silence, not counting of course the times when my wife and I were chatting.

What do you get from this much quieter version of drive time?

At first, nothing. I stared at the road for the initial few hours, letting my mind drift as I always do and waiting for the ideas to appear.

But nothing was showing up.

I have learned from experience, though, to be patient with the process, and to not try too hard.

“Just wait, Pete,” I kept telling myself. “Just wait.”

And then …

A story idea sprouted from the blackened spring soil of a Nebraska farm field.

And an insight merged into my lane on the Kansas Turnpike.

And a to-do list item bubbled from the ground underneath an Oklahoma oil well.

And, ironically, a new observation fought its way into my brain in the midst of a hectic, overstimulating Fort Worth, Texas traffic jam …

Your drive time doesn’t have to be the radio industry’s version of drive time.

Try a Quieter Ride Sometimes

You can’t avoid traffic, of course, or the “gawker delay” of a freeway accident.

But you can decide to make your drive time as silent and peaceful as you possibly can—especially inside the car.

So …

Turn your radio off sometimes.

Let the music go quiet.

Listen to the podcast later.

Enjoy the silence once in a while, and let it work its magic.

If you’re not used to it, it might throw you for a while. Your brain might react to the (near) silence by creating its own hectic, overstimulating environment.

But before long, that brain of yours will realize that you’ve granted it permission to be what it’s meant to be …

The insight- and idea-producing miracle that works wonders when you envelop it in a quieter atmosphere.