Do you listen to music while working? Does it improve your productivity or impact it negatively?
Venkata Naga Kailash Anantha
44 replies
I am a hardcore music lover and love to listen to it while working. But sometimes, I do feel like, listening to music impacts my productivity. Has anyone experienced the same? Do you have any tips to share, to me and to the community in general?
Replies
Aaron O'Leary@aaronoleary
I tend to always listen to jazz while working, one because I love it and two because it just mellows me out, even in stressful situations, and I work my best when I'm calm.
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It depends on the kind of task you're working on.
If I am on a monotonous task where I have to review stuff from my team members or just assign things I already know, its easier and quicker.
But for tasks that require concentration and critical thinking, sometimes I get carried away with music only to come and read the same thing thrice. So when I have to really concentrate on something, I can't do it with music!
@mujadad_naeem I have noticed this pattern even in my case. For more brain-intensive tasks, I try to turn off the music! Normal coding would be with music in most of the cases!
its a must to help stay focussed, otherwise the internal dialogue in my head takes over! haha. Instrumental music is always best, its why lo-fi hiphop is quite a good choice. If you're feeling really pumped about work and want to up the productivity try some deep house or drum and bass too. Just avoid anything with too many lyrics as it can distract from what you might be typing!
I hope this helps.
@blissinvestor Yes. I love to play some BGMs from my fav movies during my work. Very rarely I listen to music with too many lyrics!
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For me, this habit has been going on for about 20 years, and there are at least two reasons for doing so:
I need to maintain focused attention even in environments where I can't control the volume of surrounding noise.
Even in quiet environments, due to the long-standing habit mentioned in the first point, I often play music (without headphones) to quickly get into a familiar working and listening environment.
Furthermore, I've had a profound realization that when I'm in an excellent state of mind, with thoughts flowing rapidly, essentially in a state of flow, I find that the music reaching my ears is always my most favorite and pleasing. It's as if they can interpret my mental state, ready to appear perfectly at those exciting key moments, making the experience unforgettable. I have this kind of experience almost every day.
@bohan_wang1 You actually touched another important point - without headphones. I too listen to music from my laptop speakers most of the time. Make it feel better and less pain to my ears ;)
@bohan_wang1 Spot on! I follow the Pomodoro technique a lot. Sometimes, the breaks get long for many reasons, but that is a good sign! Taking short walks at home, fetching water, and giving my brain a much-needed thinking slot are just a few I do. We are all working towards a better us, and I see a pattern across all the responses.
I do not listen, because it distracts me
I love music, so I can't listen to it while working 😅 I will for sure get distracted, especially if is a song I really really like.
However, listening to nature sounds help me concentrate. Raindrops is my favourite.
@bonumdesign LOL... thats a bad spot to be in :P Sometimes, changing the genre, the entire playlist will be refreshing ;)
yes! productivity at finest
It definitly helps! It can change my mood completely. I've even made a work playlist!
@kevin_van_haesendonck Same here. I have a working mode playlist which I play on repeat mode. It is around 5 hours long right now. Will be ever growing as I find more BGMs that I like!
Lounge background music works well, but nothing heavy/ emotinal etc, it kinda distracts:)
As an HR manager, my main role involves conducting interviews and focusing on various HR-related tasks. In our company, we maintain a quiet and respectful working environment in open spaces, and it's not a common practice to play music that could disrupt others.
The reason for this is that, especially during interviews, it's crucial for me to have clear communication with both candidates and team members. Playing music in the background could potentially interfere with this communication and make it difficult for everyone involved to concentrate and communicate effectively.
Furthermore, keeping the workspace quiet and free from distractions is important because it allows everyone to work without disturbances and helps maintain a professional atmosphere. It ensures that employees can concentrate on their tasks and have productive workdays.
In summary, my role as an HR manager involves creating a conducive and respectful work environment where clear communication is essential. Therefore, we avoid playing music in open spaces to maintain a peaceful and productive atmosphere.
brain.fm all day every day
@robert_zinke_pushrec_ Wow... havent heard of this product till now. But looks interesting! Gonna give it a try.
It depends on the mood. Sometimes I listen to something light. but when I need to concentrate I prefer silence.
sometimes yes, helps me to concentrate
@sergei_turkov Yes. Many times, I get excited that I get to listen to my fav music. Indirectly pushing me towards starting the work session sooner and for longer durations
Depends on the task - listening to music helps
Usually yes, I do. Mostly instrumental music and stuff from the 1980s.
Probably always, I pause it only when I need to read an article or smth. It helps me stay withing the workflow and not get distracted by the surrounding things.
@burmistrov Yes. I too stop music if it is a reading task. Noticed that, reading tasks and music may not go well together!
I believe you should select the appropriate music genre for each situation. You can listen to instrumental music while working. It should help you focus more. If you enjoy Vietnamese music, check out https://nhacchuongviet.com.
@nhacchuongviet Yes.I am not sure if BGMs are considered as instrumental, but yes, meditation and instrumental musics helps us in gaining focus faster and have a better overall output !
I usually always listen to my favorite bands while working, it helps me get in the zone. I know all of their songs by heart so it became something I do automatically and not even think about it.
I avoid new songs or songs I don't know while working as it's distracting (pretty much anything you have to think about is).
Generally, I listen to audio files… but that moment when a certain flow begins to misbehave, I pause the audio for better concentration 😂