Many of us love listening to music while working.

Is it good? Is it bad? Will it make us more productive? Or will it distract us into the daydreaming?

The scientific answer is – it depends. It depends what you are working on, your type of personality, and what music you are listening to. However, there are a couple of general rules on how music affects your work, which we are excited to share.

FACTORS that determine how music influences productivity:
⚪️ Complexity – Complex music is more distracting.
⚪️ Lyrics – Music with lyrics hinders concentration.
⚪️ Habits – If you’re used to working to music, then it helps.
⚪️ Task difficulty – Music hinders performance on more complex tasks.
⚪️ Choice – If you choose to listen to music, it distracts you less.

It’s RECOMMENDED to listen to:
🔵 familiar music – it improves creativity, while unfamiliar music hinders creativity,
🔵 quiet classical music – for example, listening to it during a recorded lecture can make listening and learning more enjoyable,
🔵 relaxing, repetitive, harmonious, and meditation music – it improves performance on cognitive tasks.

It’s NOT RECOMMENDED to listen to:
🔴 popular music with lyrics – it hinders focus on reading comprehension and other complex tasks,
🔴 music you strongly like or dislike – it makes you less focused.