I am a sound engineer/producer/songwriter, so music is a pretty big part of my life. A few years ago I read an interview from Sting (I think) about how he treats music as an activity rather than an accessory and it always stuck with me. I have been living with moderate ADHD for most of my life so having a tune in my ear would always give my brain another stop in the cycle to keep me distracted.

My headphones broke two weeks ago, I always buy cheap throw aways because I burn through them quickly and they are good for references. My first intention was to break the habbit of falling asleep listening to a podcast, then I realized that I only drive or walk or exercise with music in so I decided to see what a week without it would be like.

I run/walk for probably 10-15 hours a week, getting used to that without music was a little challenging, but I I find myself getting into the zone much more easily now. Normally I would just have some jazz or eastern classical in my ear during my day, and I have to say I miss it, because it's not something I would sit down and absorb actively like other genres. I find myself just turning on some of my favorite songs and listening to them without doing anything else and it feels much more meaningful. When I sit down to write my own music I have noticed that I am drawing from a much more narrow field of inspiration, compared to when I was listening to a wider variety of music.

Overall I highly recommend making music an active activity, I think I will slowly start incorporating it passively in some areas of my life, but I feel much more present in general, and my time with music feels more special.