5 rules to supercharge your focus with music
Music regulates arousal and mood, which makes it an important weapon to have in your deep work arsenal (Schäefer et al. 2013). But harnessing music to help not hinder your productivity isn't as straightforward playing your favourite tunes, as this enlightening conclusion puts it... "the benefits of providing music to laboratory animals depend on the species and the type of music." <head scratch>
I started mixing music and work as a school student (think, Alanis Morissette, Smashing Pumpkins, and Aqua to round it out). There was no rhyme or reason to my approach and the music simply acted as a distraction. Since then I've developed 5 Golden Rules to use music to increase my focus.
Here are my 5 rules for using music to increase focus:
1. Shhhh... Libraries are on to something; silence is golden when learning something new.
2. Drag yourself across the line. Use upbeat music to get your energy up and motivate yourself to do repetitive task (think, emailing and data entry).
3. Condition yourself. Like Pavlov's dogs, Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball, The Blind Side, and The Big Short) has conditioned himself to be able to jump into deep work by sticking to one playlist. The idea is that eventually, you will automatically associate the music with deep work. A word of warning: you'll never want to hear any of the songs on the playlist outside of work again.
4. Slow and steady when problem solving. Researchers found that musical tempo in the range of 50-80 beats per minute can help induce the alpha state in your brain, where your mind becomes calm, alert, and concentration is heightened. Minimal lyrics is best.
5. Don't worry, be happy... with creative work. Ritter & Ferguson (2017) conclude that creativity is highest when listening to 'happy' music. Exciting times for Bobby McFerrin.
GIVE IT A GO...
Music streaming
Spotify Premium is a winner. Cheap, lots of variety, and great playlists. My go-to playlists for deep work are Brain Food, Peaceful Piano, and Ludovico Einaudi Best Of; for repetitive tasks, I'm big on Morning Commute and Gold School.
Focus at Will is designed for deep work. Less variety than Spotify Premium and a similar price (but you're paying for the science). I chose Spotify in the end because I can easily skip between slow and steady.
Headphones
Headphones at work are as much a do not disturb sign as they are about listening to music. I've always used Bose noise cancelling over-ear headphones. I'm currently using Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones (review). They're awesome but expensive - if you want to listen to music at work they're a good investment.
Luke Hurst is the Managing Director of Building 20; a Melbourne-based niche consultancy that delivers affordable, data-driven programs to organisations to reduce distraction and optimise productivity.