How to Use Music to Immediately Improve Your Productivity
Music plays a major part in many of the things we do every day. An upbeat jam can give us that extra push we need to finish our 3-mile run, a crowd-pleasing song almost always accompanies a group of fans cheering on their team, and a familiar tune can bring back a heartwarming memory. Certainly, the right song at the right time enhances our lives. So how can music improve our productivity?
Positive Outlook
Our mood is one of the biggest factors in how productive we can be in a single day. If your morning starts off on the wrong side of the bed, it’s almost impossible to get back on track to dominate the rest of the day. That’s where music comes to the rescue. You can easily change the entire course of your day by turning on upbeat music on your way to work or while you’re trudging through a mundane task. Even if you aren’t having a bad day, research shows music can also help keep you in a happy mental state. Music has the power to completely change our outlook on life (or a single day or situation). Listening to your favorite feel-good songs will lift your mood and send you dancing down the street. In one study involving information technology specialists, they found that those who listened to music completed their tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t because the music improved their mood. So turn up the volume and let the music improve your day.
Break It Down
Taking breaks from taxing mental tasks is a great way to blow off some steam throughout your day, but sometimes you just aren’t able to take a long break or leave your desk. Listening to music you love can allow you to escape completely for a short refreshing break without ever leaving your workspace. It’s also incredibly difficult to listen to good music without dancing a little in your seat. Even a fist pump can help prevent a sedentary lifestyle that is correlated with many different health issues.
Breaking the Monotony
We all have those tasks in our day that require very little concentration but must be done. When the task you’re working on is time consuming, seek repetitive music as it can have a huge impact on your performance. Sound repetition can provide a great pace to work on these types of tasks without getting distracted. Music can also keep you optimistic throughout these tasks, which helps when you’re ready to move onto something a bit more challenging.
Avoid a Noisy Workplace
Another major reason people listen to music at work is to prevent interruptions from those around them. As workspaces move toward open floor plans and co-working spaces, the noise buildup can become overwhelming. When your co-workers are having conversations with each other, it’s much easier to become distracted because it’s natural to be curious about projects going on around you, even if you’re not a direct member of the conversation. Even if you aren’t actually listening to music, wearing headphones can deter people from unnecessarily interrupting your train of thought and help keep you on track.
Keep your Work Front and Center
Although music has many benefits, you must take care to avoid putting background music in the forefront of your thoughts. Sometimes listening to music with lyrics, a heavy beat or lyrics you’re very familiar with can shift your attention away from the task. When you introduce music with lyrics, while working on an already cognitive-intensive task, it can cause similar side effects as working on two separate tasks would. Try out a station on Spotify, Pandora or Focus@Will that features on instrumental compositions instead. Sometimes you want the music to stimulate you intellectually, rather than move you emotionally. Noticeable shifts in music can also cause you to become pre-occupied with what is happening in the music and lose your place. Avoid booming bass and loud synth noises within music if you don’t want your music to interrupt your workflow.
Overall, music can be a great tool to help you get through the mundane tasks of your day in a great mood. Music can also serve as a distraction, which can be great at punctuating your tasks with a refreshing break or an impossible obstacle. Music can serve us every day, increasing productivity and helping us accomplish what we need to with efficiency and good spirit. Like music, GetAssist helps with these same things. GetAssist is a new social platform that allows users to connect with purpose, and cut out the unnecessary noise that’s overtaking other social platforms. Join GetAssist today and connect with other people in Music related Communities to find out how they use music to improve their productivity.
