Music is for the ears what coffee is for the mouth: fuel!
Creativity fuels creativity, and music is on of my favorite ways to “get int the mood” for creating. I almost always write with jazz (Davis, Brubeck, Coletrain) playing in the background, though I have listed to U2 and Explosions in the Sky as well.
Apparently, though, music isn’t just fuel for creative people: everyone can benefit from listening to music while work—it’s suppose to boost productivity!
According to a recent study, listening to music while you work can make you more efficient. In fact, there might even be a type of music that would benefit your type of work directly. Interesting, right?
Here’s a infographic that represents some of the report’s findings.
I’ve always felt like music helps make work easier. That’s what I’ve always tried to play music in my classroom, and now that I’m at a school with a one-to-one laptop program, I let my students listen to their own music while they’re working. I can see how music might not help everyone, but I don’t believe in creating a stifled atmosphere of enforced silence, though some companies (and classrooms) clearly do.
Okay, now, I guess it’s time for a bit of disclaimer. This report was totally scientific, right? And completely free from any and all bias? This study was conducted by MusicWorks, which turns out to be a joint campaign of two music licensing companies, who would then be paid money by corporations in order to pipe music throughout their office.
So, let’s put it this way: music probably does help people work more efficiently, but considering the source, let’s take this with at least a tiny grain of salt. Or, as the kids would say: #grainofsalt.
Do you listen to music while you work?
If so, what genre or artist, or does that depend upon the type of work you’re doing?
[via The Telegraph | HT RELEVANT Magazine | Featured image via Sketchy Humor | Infographic via PRS for Music]
Eric Dye says
I am more apt to match my music with my mood.
Phil Schneider says
Same here—or rather, I choose music to lift my mood.
Eric Dye says
Fact not fiction. #lecrae
Phil Schneider says
I see what you did there.
Steven Gliebe says
For me it depends on the type of work. If I’m doing, Hearing someone singing is a major distraction while while I’m coding, writing or planning but instrumental music can get me in a nice groove. I can handle any kind of music while designing though. I don’t know if this is a left/right brain thing or what.
Steven Gliebe says
See, if I was listening to The Piano Guys while writing that comment, it would have made more sense.
Phil Schneider says
Ha! I work the same way, Steven. Any music (or podcast) works when I’m setting up a WordPress site or doing any of the behind-the-scenes stuff, but if I’m writing, it’s got to be instrumental, specifically jazz. So many blog posts have started with “Freddie Freeloader” by Miles Davis.