Music Can Make You More Productive!

Quick, what’s your favorite song? Karaoke lovers will have an answer right away but for others, this can be a really difficult question, for others, it might seem really easy. Now think about what mood that song evokes from you: happy, sad, energetic, etc. Research has found that listening to music can have a major impact on your productivity. I personally love listening to music and do it almost all the time while working.

Researchers found that music can be helpful, detrimental, or completely neutral when listening to it while working. If you listen to a song that has a slow tempo and a melancholic melody then odds are high that it might hurt your productivity. Your favorite rock or pop song might hurt your productivity too. When music is too fast or the words are too distracting then it becomes counter-productive.

Recent studies at various universities have illustrated how music vastly changes vital elements of our body such as blood pressure, pulse, and even our moods. Due to the vast differences in how everyone’s minds can react differently to music, it is essential that we know what type of music elicits the best reaction.

When you are trying to give yourself that burst of energy and continue working away you must consider a few things: first, does the music have any words? If it does this might not be the right choice seeing as it can distract you, although if you really want something with words pick something in another language that you cannot understand, that way it is less distracting.

You will also want to make sure that the tempo of the music isn’t too fast or too slow. If it’s too quick it might actually cause you to want to move to the beat and prevent you from focusing, and if it’s too slow you might fall asleep!

Based on these criteria, classical music has been considered one of the best types of music to help you focus and become more productive. If you truly despise classical music, try to keep in mind that this music isn’t really for enjoyment purposes, but primarily to invoke certain chemical reactions and physical stimuli in your body so that you can be more productive! Another key is volume. Music should not be too loud that it drowns out your concentration. The volume of the music needs to be quieter than your thoughts, and that can differ from person to person

If you try classical music and it still doesn’t seem to be working for you, maybe try the other side of the spectrum, such as EDM or new age music. These offer very similar benefits to classical music, such as having no words and a decent tempo.

Another thing to be considered is the type of work you are doing. If you are involved in a job that does not involve a lot of mental concentration then the type of music might matter a little less. For instance, singing and music with words probably won’t be a problem. After all music with labor has been around a long time.

Songs, like I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, show that music and labor have long been associated. Even after WWII, there was a development of programmatic music for agriculture workers, general laborers, miners, and even sailors! This was all a part of trying to help these laborers be more productive and even happier!

Happier? That’s right, another study on music and productivity showed that when listening to music you are much more likely to be smiling! Isn’t that crazy? I don’t know about you but in a world that can be hard, I am always looking for more ways to smile.

So, to summarize, we have learned that when we listen to music it has the power to make a big difference in our work. That difference can be negative or positive and it all depends on what you’re doing and what you listen to. Generally, classical music is supposed to help us focus the most and if that’s not your style you can always try electronic music!

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