Wearing Headphones Makes Me Hate Shopping at the Grocery Much Less.
If I am hungry, I can go to the store and leave with food. It’s pretty cool and I’m not trying to take it for granted. However, like most people, I still consider grocery shopping to be a chore. And I found an easy way to make it more enjoyable: headphones.
A few months ago, I was listening to a podcast on my way to the grocery store. When I arrived I wanted to continue listening and luckily I had a pair of headphones in my backpack. I stuck them in my phone and in my ears and continued my merry way. Since then, I’ve gotten into the habit of buying groceries with headphones on. That’s why.
This makes the experience more enjoyable: you can watch podcasts, download an audiobook, or just listen to music you really like (as opposed to the soft hits of 2002). If you usually buy the same groceries week after week, grocery shopping is a rather pointless task in terms of consumption. You might as well make it more productive, or at least more enjoyable.
This keeps lawyers away – from lawyers at the store entrance to the solar panel sellers inside the store, I hate to constantly say to lawyers, “No thanks, I’m not interested” when I’m just trying to get milk and bread. With headphones on, you have an excuse to continue your walk. It can be rude, but I keep begging me even after I say that I am not interested.
Headphones block in-store distractions: Stores are built to help you spend money, from decoration to music . Headphones are a great defense against this tactic. At least in my experience, you are less focused on what surrounds you and more on what you are listening to, which pushes you out of the consumerist regime.
Of course, when you shop, you also need to be aware of your surroundings, so I try to stick to the same rules as when I go to work and listen to the radio. Namely, I set the volume level low enough to hear what is happening around me. I also take my headphones out when I leave. For a person who was on the other side of the register, it is rather frustrating to check on someone when they are on the phone, even if they are just listening to music. However, when you go about your business, I see no problem wearing headphones while you shop.