It's well known that music affects the human body and soul in many different ways. Just listening to the first line of your favorite song can make you feel great, even after a long and stressful day at work. However, since we have mentioned work, do you think music can increase your productivity?

We strongly believe that this is true, but only under specific conditions. Let's read more about it.

Music or total silence

To be honest, when you are working and listening to music at the same time you are actually multitasking. Having this in mind we have to ask ourselves why are so many people supporting listening to music while working. 

Of course, in some cases it's much better to be surrounded with music than with total silence. For example, music can really make you feel better and increase your efficiency, but if you are actually reading something it can somewhat affect your comprehension and memory. This is the reason why listening to music generally has a positive effect on routine tasks.

Background music

Music simply moves our brain and makes it work better. Even if you are just listening to some background music, in reality it's much more than background since it fires up our brain. But the question now is are we actually getting smarter while listening to music? Is it possible that the activity of the brain caused by music will make it less focused on the work we have to do?

Using music as a buffer

In case you work in a modern office, in a so called cubicle, music can become a buffer between you and the person working next to you. Of course it's great to work in a large office and be in touch with your coworkers, sharing ideas and stuff. But if you need to do something and meet a deadline, having your headphones on will help you focus for sure.

This is one of the main arguments for listening to music at work. You can practically isolate yourself from the surrounding and any distraction. According to some recent studies, the surrounding noise (someone talking, for example) can affect your productivity in a negative way. On the other hand, music won't. So, it's pretty simple, turn on the music to shut down the background noise. It's really that simple.

Make your own playlist

When you choose the music you are going to listen while working it is always better to listen to something that makes you feel good and energized. Everyone has heard that listening to Mozart can make you smarter, but if you don't like that music the effect won't be exactly like that.

Since the music taste is generally different between people, it doesn't mean you should listen a radio in your office on your portable speaker. What makes you feel great can severely irritate another person. 

A few tips for your playlist for work

If you plan to create your own playlist to listen at work in order to boost your productivity, take care of the following:

Avoid music with lyrics

The first thing that comes to our mind when we talk about music without lyrics is classical music. If there are no lyrics, your mind won't subconsciously pay attention to what is being said at the moment. In case your work is closely connected to writin, then lyrics-free music is a better option. In case you don't like listening to classical music, try listening to some instrumental, acoustic music.

Why not listen to foreign music?

In case you are not into classical music it is good to try listening to some foreign songs. If you don't understand what they are singing about, you will remain focused, right? Hopefully, pur brain will stop trying to figure out what's being sung.

Listen to something familiar to you

In case you don't like foreign music and you want to avoid classical music at the same time, why not try listening to the music you like, something you listen to every day. The idea is as follows - if you are listening to something that is extremely familiar to you, you won't pay attention to the lyrics and the beat. according to that, your attention won't be split between the music and the work you have to do. Sounds good, right?

Keep your music at moderate levels

When it comes to the volume you should listen to music at work, it seem logical that you should keep it at lower levels, right? However, according to a recent study the music shouldn't be listened neither on lower volume, nor at high volumes. The best thing is to keep it in the middle.

When the sound is too loud you will find it more difficult to think through the things you do. Creative thinking will be at maximum levels if you keep your music at moderate levels.

Avoid music that touches you

If a specific piece of music makes you shiver, or overwhelms you with feelings, it definitely shouldn't be on your playlist. Save it for your home, it definitely doesn't belong into the office.

Final Words

While most people still think that silence is better, in the today's modern office silence is impossible. Imagine trying to explain your sales team or customer support to keep it down. You can only dream of it.

Maybe having peace and silence in the office will make everyone more productive, but where is the fun in that. Do you thing everyone working in such surrounding will be in good mood? Of course not. 

If you have a deadline to meet and the time is running out, you might think it would be better in total silence. But instead of that, use your music to isolate yourself from distractions like the conversations going on around you, or a phone ringing and similar. Everything said, we can make a conclusion that a music friendly atmosphere at work will be much better fro your health and wellbeing.