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What music should you play for maximum productivity? You might think this question is only a matter of taste. My husband, for instance, prefers to do creative work while blasting rock music. If I tried to do that, the only thing I would have by the end of the day is a nervous breakdown.
But even while taste clearly plays a role in the ideal music for getting work done, research suggests it's not the only factor. A parade of studies indicate that different types of music -- or no music at all -- can help us get in the right mental zone for different types of work:
For focused, mentally taxing work, listening to something instrumental, such as classical music, beats music with lyrics, according to research.
Lo-fi music is derided as boring by music critics, but both its online popularity and academic research suggest its blend-into-the-background quality can help you power through boring or stress-inducing busy work.
If your aim is to boost creativity, psychologists suggest that songs with a tempo in the range of 50-80 beats per minute can help induce something called the "alpha state" in your brain, which helps the ideas flow.
Researchers at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management actually came up with a specific playlist they claim can make you feel more powerful to pump you up before high-stakes meetings and negotiations.
Another analysis by a musicologist showed the songs most likely to make us happy are slightly faster than average (between 140 and 150 beats per minute), written in a major key, and have lyrics that either talk about happy events or are complete nonsense.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying that music does matter for productivity, but which exact songs work best is determined both by what you mean by "productivity" and your personal preferences.
That's the scientifically correct answer, but it's not going to give you much inspiration for the playlist you're trying to create to help you get through that pile of work you've been dreading. For that, I point you to fun, if less scientific, recent research from student website EduBirdie.
To help their young readers figure out what to listen to while studying for that upcoming algebra exam, the company combed through 50 of the most popular productivity playlists on Spotify to see which songs appeared the most often. The resulting top 15 should also provide plenty of inspiration for entrepreneurs looking for tunes to power them through their work:
Dua Lipa - "Levitating"
Bruno Mars - "Just the Way You Are"
The Neighborhood - "Sweater Weather"
Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire"
Ryan Gosling - "I'm Just Ken"
One Republic - "I Ain't Worried"
Katy Perry - "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)"
Charlie Puth - "Lightswitch"
Taylor Swift - "New Romantics"
One Direction - "Night Changes"
Ed Sheeran - "Perfect"
Black Eyed Peas - "Pump It"
Lana Del Rey - "Say Yes to Heaven"
Adele - "Set Fire to the Rain"
Charlie XCX - "Speed Drive"
This pop-heavy selection might not be everyone's cup of tea -- my Metallica-loving husband would rather have a root canal, I suspect -- but for the casual listener looking for familiar, uptempo hits, it's just the ticket. For something more specialized to you and your taste, you'll have to consult the science above and build your own playlist.
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The 15 Best Songs for Boosting Productivity, According to Spotify Data
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02.02.2024
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What music should you play for maximum productivity? You might think this question is only a matter of taste. My husband, for instance, prefers to do creative work while blasting rock music. If I tried to do that, the only thing I would have by the end of the day is a nervous breakdown.
But even while taste clearly plays a role in the ideal music for getting work done, research suggests it's not the only factor. A parade of studies indicate that different types of music -- or no music........
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