What’s your work-from-home routine? Adapting to the new normal is quite challenging. There are a lot of distractions in your home. What to do if you just want to be productive? Listen to some music!
But is it true? Can you blast your stereos to be more productive working? I’m pretty curious, and here’s what I have found out.
The Mozart Effect
Have you ever heard of the Mozart Effect? A few years back, there was this rave about Mozart’s music making you more intelligent. It even went as far as pregnant women listening to Mozart’s symphonies moulding their “soon-to-be genius” children.
One of the studies that started this thinking was a 1993 study that says you can perform better at spatial tasks after listening to Mozart for 10 mins.
If you can boost productivity by just listening, why no, right?
Another was an experiment conducted in 2015 comparing Mozart’s “K. 448” and Beethoven’s Für Elise effect on “alpha band” brain waves, connected with memory and problem-solving. And Mozart’s had that significant effect compared to Beethoven’s, despite both being some of the best in classical music.
Why does Mozart’s work induce that outcome? Is it just exclusive to his work?
Before bingeing Mozart’s symphonies, researchers hypothesised otherwise. The Mozart effect is even debunked. Researchers found out that it’s about the increase in dopamine when you listen to music.
Listening to Music You Like
Dopa what? I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that’s responsible for pleasure in our bodies. Researchers found that listening to music induces dopamine production, which results in better prefrontal cortex performance. In turn, it boosts your productivity.
According to a 1995 study, the workers’ performance significantly improved when listening to music compared to those without. But it doesn’t relate to what type of music. It connected how the music made them feel relaxed.
So it’s not about Mozart that causes your productivity boost. It’s the music you like to listen to and feel relaxed with.
One research by voices.com showed quite surprising data with Remote workers’ work-from-home playlists on Spotify. Instead of classical music, Pop and EDM songs ranked the highest, with Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Ed Sheeran as the top artists. And 69% of the work-from-home songs have lyrics.
When Music is Counterproductive
But isn’t it too distracting when listening to music with lyrics? Have you tried writing while listening to a pop song?
Productivity can only go so far with music. According to a 2011 study, music disturbs the reading process but positively impacts emotional reactions and achievements in sports.
So, hearing your favourite beats might not be the best for complex tasks. It can lighten your mood for more productivity, but the lyrics might be too distracting. For example, I write my content while thinking out loud in my head. Hearing a few more songs might compete with my attention.
If you still want music in the background while doing mentally challenging tasks, it’s best to have music without too many lyrics. Or, at the very least, the music you have heard repeatedly so as not to get distracted by the lyrics or beat.
We all have the music taste that we genuinely enjoy. Regardless of the genre, it’s a plus because of the dopamine rush you get from listening if you can do your tasks without getting distracted.
What to Do Now?
There’s no exact science yet behind productivity and music. So should you work with music o the background? Well, the answer is, it depends.
First, is it music you actually like? With this, your dopamine levels will increase while working.
The next question is, what kind of work are you doing? If it’s not too mentally tasking, you can just play whatever music you want as long as you enjoy it.
If it is, it’s best to play something without too many lyrics or distracting beats. But the music you’ve heard many times is an exception because you wouldn’t be too focused on the lyrics or the beats it produces.
Regardless of the music genre, it’s all up to your preferences. In remote work, the output is what matters.
So if you’re enjoying the elegant classics or blasting Taylor Swift’s All Too Well 10-minute version, just listen to the music you love. And make your clients happy in the process. Cheers!
