Music while you work

[Mirelle]

Do you use music to put yourself in a productive mood?

It is widely accepted that music increases productivity. Executives and creative professionals who listen to music say it reduces stress and maximizes their energy and focus. Music also changes your mood. You can use music to keep up your morale and productivity in difficult circumstances. It’s not easy to maintain a positive outlook at work these days with heavy workloads and widespread layoffs. Stay upbeat despite the stress and breeze through the workday. Music not only lifts you out of negativity, it creates a bubble of sanity in which you can perform at your peak.

I like to pair music to my energy level and the task at hand. In the morning, I’m reviewing my projects and deciding what I want to accomplish. I like a quiet environment and keep the music sweet and slow. I listen to instrumental arrangements with bells that send part of my mind to the backstreets of Kyoto. The music clears my mind of distractions before I settle into working on a project.

When I’m at my computer, I hardly notice the music, but I'm receptive to the mood it conveys. When I’m jamming under a deadline, I like traditional Celtic music with lots of fiddles. I instantly feel happy and unstoppable, like I've had a double shot of espresso. Sometimes I’m in the mood for Briand Adams, which is my favorite singer.

In the afternoon -when I’m planning, scheduling and processing email- I switch to Rimsky-Korsakov, Philip Glass or music embellished with arias like Beethovens's Moonlight Sonata.

What about you, what kind of music do you listen while you are working?

[MRTG]

I hate not listening to music, the world would be a terribly boring place without it!

It's actually proven, that if the main surgeon in a surgery chooses music to listen to through the procedure, chosen by him, his performance is greatly increased!

I'm into a lot of punk, but working late at night I listen to more abstract music, just goes with my mood at that time.

[SophieM]

Definitely.

I listen to all sorts of music, from Mahler to Frank Turner to The Police, whatever I'm in the mood for.

It definitely helps.

[Twistereli]

This is what sometimes happens to me then: YouTube - Music While You Work

But most of the times I can't refuse to keep on skipping tracks and end up browsing itunes instead of working.

But if I keep listening to one song, it does make me more courageous in my designing, which is good

[cecBUSINESS]

I listen to music when I work, just stops it feeling like well...work! It definitely helps creativity, you're allowed to listen to music in Art exams etc. I like listening to all sorts, Mumford & Sons, Noah and the Whale, Tinie Tempah, I could go on.

[bw9231345]

I definitely like to have music on whilst I work, we have BBC Radio 2 (we have to have a respectable channel on because we have clients in and out all day) in the office and at home I usually have Spotify or iTunes playing. I also have a DAB radio in nearly every room in the house, because I just like music in general.

I think it definitely helps concentration, I haven't met anyone who has said otherwise anyway.

[Shaun]

I'll have to say that I prefer not to listen to music at work because you need full concentration when you are managing many servers (Linux & Windows).

[YoungNSuccessful]

Music defenitly makes the mood better

[Lukas]

Sometimes it helps, other times it annoys the hell out of me.

[MXrider13]

I like to listen to music when I work, usually for business its Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood, Johnny Winter and a lot of blues-rock.
When I am working around cars its mainly 60's-70's rock like CCR, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Mountian, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and a newer bands like BRMC, the Gaslight Anthem,
Then for Motocross training its usually classic metal like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Helloween, Megadeth, Anthrax, etc