Music has the power to alter our mood and increase productivity levels. That is why many people listen to music while they work. When you are listening to your favorite tunes, it's easy for time to fly by because of how much enjoyment it brings you. This blog post will explore the benefits of listening to music at work and provide some tips about how you can use this technique in a time-efficient way that won't distract you from your work.

Music can help you stay focused.

There are studies made that show music can improve both productivity and cognitive performance. People listening to music while working can provide better anxiety management, increased motivation, and productivity. Nowadays, where many people work from home, and there can be many distractions in your place, listening to music while working can help you stay focused on what you are doing.

Listen to music that matches your mood.

Depending on your mood, you may want to match what song you'd like to listen to as you progress your work. There is such a thing called music therapy which therapists use in altering the mood of a patient. The idea is to match music depending on the patient's current feeling and gradually change the songs played to achieve the desired mood state.

Applying this technique while working, you can start your day by listening to relaxing, slow songs, generally those with peaceful melodies. As you go on with your work, you then shift to more powerful, motivating songs to bring you to that heightened state of productivity that you want. There is research done showing that pieces with faster track speeds can increase performance. You can then try listening to power songs at various points in the workday to maintain your motivation and productivity, such as at the start of the day, when changing tasks, and near the end of your workday.

Based on personal experience, I prefer to listen to movie soundtracks made by famous composers to help me focus and get that creative spirit going. My favorites are Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard from The Gladiator, Steve Jablonsky from Transformers, James Newton Howard from Blood Diamond, Trevor Jones from Last of the Mohicans, Daft Punk from Tron Legacy, and James Horner from Avatar. Listening to these soundtracks put me in a state of mind where the moment I hear the music, it conditions my mind to get to work and focus on it.

Last thoughts

Despite studies showing that music can help in increasing work productivity and efficiency, listening to music for some can be a distraction. Songs with narrative lyrics can be a distraction to those trying to do cognitive work. Also, listening to your favorite tracks might make you jive along with the music instead of doing what you are supposed to do, with you ending up singing along to the music. So try to see first if listening to music while working can help you become more focused and productive.

For added variety, you can try making your different playlists that are suited for specific tasks. For example, you can have a playlist for studying, another one when doing work, and something else when you want to relax. Use headphones when listening to music so that you won't disturb others. If you have your private workspace, though, you can hear directly from your computer's audio or your sound system. Experiment to see what works for you to pump in more work while staying motivated along the way.