Music to Work By

Behind every great team, there’s a great soundtrack. On a busy Monday, a rainy Wednesday, or casual Friday afternoon, music puts you in the zone, lifts your spirits, and helps you tune out the world so you can get some work done.

Music does the job of distracting the chatty part of your brain so that you can get started on a new project, although at times, it can be distracting. Each person is different — some of us like to get pumped up, while others like to mellow out — but neuroscience suggests that the right kind of music can actually boost your brain’s concentration for optimal productivity.

And good news — this actually works!

Alex Heber for Business Insider attests to the concentration powers of music designed with our brains in mind. She says that when she tried Focus@will, a music subscription that offers scientifically-developed focus music, it actually did help her get stuff done.

Focus@will says that “music which doesn’t connect with your emotions can boost your focus levels and cut out distractions.” Different from music that is meant to engage through lyrics, catchy beats, and other compositional devices that stick in your mind, music designed for hyper-focus simply masks distractions and falls into the background.

Google “focus music” and you will find a plethora of options, some better than others. In fact, I seem to remember searching for these myself when pulling all-nighters during college. I can’t say that it was the only thing that allowed me to get that paper done, but I will say that it turned off the part of my brain that wanted to find a distraction — if only replacing other potential distractions with a light layer of musical distraction.

According to Heber, this is exactly the concept that focus@will is based on.

A NYT article on the topic presents some additional things to think about. First, that music can make you happy by boosting your dopamine and preventing your mind from traveling to worries or stressful thoughts, according to Dr. Amit Sood of the Mayo Clinic. Second, that this increase in happiness can lead to measurably improved work performance. Dr. Leisuk from the music therapy program at University of Miami, found in various studies that adding music to work environments resulted in faster task completion and better idea development. She attributes this to the improvement in mood brought on by the enjoyment of music, and says that freedom to the choose what you listen to is key.

So whether you want to get scientific or bust out something that brings a smile to your face, it’s not a bad idea to crank those tunes every once in a while. For a list of awesome songs to play in a fast-paced call center or office environment, check out Logical Position’s office-wide playlist created by Eric Scriven on Spotify, or read on for a list of what LPers from various departments are pumping into our headphones.

Shelley West, Creative Services PM: SKRILLEX!

Tony Palazzo, VP Marketing: My EDM Playlist on Spotify

Hannah Vincent, Recruiting Manager: “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk is my go-to song for life. Oh, and least favorite: “Let It Go” from the Frozen Soundtrack.

David Lee, Paid Search Specialist: “Tuesday” by MAKKNONEN ft. Drake on Tuesdays; “Aloha Friday No Work Till Monday!” by Kimo Kahoano on Fridays.

Atsushi Hisaka, Paid Search Specialist: “Strength” by Overheat.

Tyrrell Stewart, Paid Search Specialist: “Just the Two of Us” by Will Smith or “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed.

Gabe Blackoff, Sales Manager: “All I Do Is Win!” DJ Khaled.

Jessica Bernstein, Sales Manager: “Oasis” by my brother’s band, Doms Gauge.

Garrett Nothern, Assistant Sales Manager: The entire album “Music for the Masses” by Depeche Mode.

Josh White, Account Manager: “Maneater” by Hall and Oats.

Steven Guzman, Account Manager: the “Social Network” soundtrack by Atticus Ross.

Adam Schwartz, Account Manager: “Come With Me Now” by the Kongos.

Nick Nelson, Account Manager: Biggie and Tupac.