Electronic Music
I’ve been listening to a fair amount of electronic music this week owing to the John B CD I got from Amazon and my temporary obsession with all things Moby. I’ve noticed that electronic music helps to increase my productivity by a substantial margin. I find it much easier to focus on my work while listening. The high BPM keeps me in a more bouncy mood than I typically find myself in while working for the man, and it helps to induce a trance like state of concentration owing to a general rather than specific focus on the music. The seamless fades between songs and regular repeating beats trick my mind into sticking with one task instead of jumping to a new topic. My head just plain feels clearer, and it’s even easier to focus on nothing at all if I choose to since I can easily focus on the aurally complex music and many levels of sound.
It’s not all perception either. My volume of ideas jotting on my Hipster PDA has spiked. I’ve even found that listening to electronic music while assembling furniture in the living room on the digital cable caused the work to go much faster than without and with less of a perception of stress on my part. My stress level in general has gone way down even from the relatively stressless state I’ve found myself in since implementing GTD. The relatively fast pace of the music helps keep my chronically depressed mood a lot more level. When I’m frustrated, I have a focus point to center myself on. In that regard, it’s rather like counting the breath during sitting meditation.
Looking for some great examples of tunes so you can try it yourself? Older Moby is great for this. Newer Moby is more lyrical and doesn’t cause me to phase into that programmer’s trance as readily. John B’s Brainstorm is also excellent with truly seamless transitions between songs. In this regard, continuous mix CDs or commercial-free Internet radio are beneficial as well. Transitions are often taken by your working brain as an opportunity for disruption and distraction. Video game soundtracks are another great option. I’m referring specifically to electronic-sounding soundtracks with relatively high BPM like Castlevania. Lower BPM soundtracks like the Final Fantasy piano collections causes increased focus for me but with much less pace.
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