AirPods Pro Can Help You Hack Your Brain

How to use Apple’s signature noise-canceling earbuds to drop into a creative flow

Adrian Hanft
OneZero

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A close up shot of AirPods Pro in between its packaging box and a pink notebook.
Photo: Daniel Romero/Unsplash

II am always looking for hacks that allow me to get into the zone faster, stay there longer, and increase my creative output. Here’s a new trick that has been working for me lately.

You may recall my previous advice on how to trigger flow with coffee. The idea here is the same. Our bodies are programmable, and if we are intentional about the inputs we allow into our system, we can optimize how we experience the world. Sound is a critical ingredient of our mental interface, and using it to your advantage should be a part of your flow-hacking strategy.

For Christmas this year, I got a pair of AirPods Pro. I was expecting them to be an upgrade to my aging first-generation AirPods, but what I experienced was something unexpected. When I first inserted the AirPods Pro in my ears, the sensation was disorienting. I’ve heard other people describe it as adding a soundtrack to your life. Others call them Apple’s first augmented reality device. That’s not what it feels like to me. The closest thing I can compare it to is flow, that euphoric feeling when the world disappears and you are alone with your work. It feels like an altered state. This makes it an ideal tool for flow hacking.

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Adrian Hanft
OneZero

Author of User Zero: Inside the Tool that is Reshaping Dystopia