Maintaining your focus in complete silence is difficult. If you’ve ever heard of deafening silence, you’d know what I’m talking about. Sometimes, it’s easier for thoughts to drift away when things are really quiet and that would be a problem if there’s a task that needs your complete attention. Another issue could be that external sounds (e.g. people talking, footsteps, motors or engines, and other similar sounds you can’t escape from) can also be distracting. This is where focus music comes in.
BENEFITS OF MUSIC TO PRODUCTIVITY
Music benefits us in many ways. It can be a creative outlet or a way for us to express ourselves, improve our mood, or heighten our emotions. For working or studying specifically, I found that there are only specific types of music that works for me. Music allows me to set the mood for myself, so in a way, it’s me hyping myself up for any daunting task in front of me. It can’t be just any kind of music, too, because some genres or types of music can be distracting.
Here are some of my favorite types of music to listen to while working or studying.
Ambient Music
Often with “study music” the tune needs to be predictable and something that our brains can easily disregard, like background music, for us not to be distracted by the sounds around us. It can also be a sensory experience because it can help put your walls up. Ambient music is one of my favorite focus music because the tunes are already familiar. And because I choose those that come from movies or shows that I love and enjoy, I don’t feel bored and that helps me with my tasks.
Nature Music
I find these soothing because I like the sound of gentle rain and other peaceful nature sounds. Because this kind of focus music feels soothing to me, it also helps me calm my nerves whenever I feel overwhelmed. There is plenty of different nature sounds to choose from. Another sound bit that helps me relax is just listening to sounds that remind me of the beach.
Lo-Fi Music
I only recently found out about Lo-Fi as focus music though I’ve been seeing the genre around for a few years now. This style of music was said to be around since the 1950s and was first popularized around the 1990s. In the mixes I listen to, it’s important to me that the bass and percussions are emphasized because I love bass and it does help me focus since the tunes are also repetitive or they usually sound close to each other, so it’s predictable and makes for good background music.
So these are the ones that have worked for me so far. These types of music may be distracting for you, or it can make you feel sleepy instead of motivated and that’s okay! It’s important to try things out for yourself to see what works and what doesn’t.
