Surviving the Symphony of Slack
Ping echoes, heart jumps,
Messages on steep incline.
Peace lost to the chime.
Before you click play, I must warn you. This sound can mean either nothing to you or trigger an immediate stress response.
For me, it is the latter.
Consider this a warning.
A quickened heartbeat, a sudden chill of panic, an instinctive urge to flee.
How easily it marries the Pavlovian response.
The familiar ding conjures a flood of memories: urgent incidents and immediate requests. Times of great stress where servers would die, requirements would change and domains would threaten expiry.
To even hear it is to travel back in time, a gateway to a past laden with stress.
To mute is to risk missing the few moments of joy - a shared meme, a conversation with a work friend or a picture of cat sitting on a table.
Pity the sounds are the same.
Almost as if work and play should never intersect.