7 Minute Read

#NowPlaying: Music for Work

Got a lot to do but no time to find that perfect playlist to get you through your workday? We feel you, so we’ve created the perfect productivity playlist for you to enjoy at work right now! These songs are sure to push you through deliverables with positive vibes and pump-up jams. Ready to increase your output? This will be your new favorite work soundtrack! Check back next month because we roll out new playlists monthly.

ron swanson putting headphones on

“Listening to music at work really helps me zone in on what I’m working on. So much so, if someone approaches me while I’m ‘in the zone’, I might jump and scream!”

– Noelle Murphy (@NoelleBellLynne), Placed and Published Media at Red Branch Media

Do you listen to #music at work? This playlist will keep your #productivity high and stress low! Click To Tweet

Music Can Boost Your Creativity

It’s true. Music has the power to boost your emotions and give you that creative spark. It’s actually pretty incredible that music can have so much influence on us. According to a recent Buffer study, different genres can affect your mood differently. The burning question is, “what genre will boost my creativity and productivity?” The answer? Well, it’s complicated. A few weeks ago, Maren touched on this in her #6Things post. There’s a lot that goes into selecting the right music to do your best work, so we’ll start with how your brain processes music and its effects on your emotions!

Read the full article about music’s power to boost your creativity, here!

Why it’s Important to Listen to Music AT Work

It’s one thing crank your tunes while you cruise down the road, on your way to or from work, but it’s a completely different thing to listen to those tunes AT work. Now that you know different work requires different music to boost your creativity and productivity, it’s important to fine-tune your playlist to get the maximum effect. Thanks to Tom Popomaronis, I can help you do that! Here’s the skinny from the article.

Listen to Music if…

  • You Have a Loud Workplace: Your brain can become negatively overworked, stressed and distracted by all those different sounds. Music will be your saving grace to tune it all out!
  • You Have a Monotonous Workday/Task: The article says it perfectly: “Various studies have indicated that, in general, people who listened to music while they worked on repetitive tasks performed faster and made fewer errors.”
  • You Need to be Creative: Familiar music will boost your happiness and get you through stressful situations, like a creative block.
  • You Need to be Accurate: Your favorite music will positively impact your accuracy.

Don’t Listen to Music if:

  • You’re Learning: Your brain needs to properly digest the information, and music will hinder that.
  • Your Tasks Require Intense Concentration: Music, though amazing, can be distracting. This is especially true in situations where you need to be detail oriented or research focused. At most, go classical or instrumental so you don’t find yourself singing along.
  • You Want to Listen to New Music: New music is great for off-the-job listening, but during work, your brain will be so consumed with the joy of processing your favorite artist’s new music for the first time that it can distract you from your job and cause you to underperform.
Want to know the best music for peak #work performance? Read THESE #tips: Click To Tweet

How to Listen to Music During “Linguistic” Tasks

Linguistic tasks… These are the writers, coders, content creators and more. The professionals who need to tune out and focus. Can they listen to music too? The answer is maybe. The music these folks need changes depending on the tasks they are trying to accomplish. A few Red Branch content creators can only pump out articles and projects to word-free tracks or soothing white noise.

“…if your tasks involve any sort of linguistic processing, focus on lyric-free options… if you have something to learn, pump up your mood with music before you get started.”

-Tom Popomaronis (@tpopomaronis)

Hey, I’m a linguistic worker! Where’s my playlist? Check out this content creator-approved playlist, Instrumental Focus for Writers & Coders.

How To Find Us & Follow Us on Spotify

There are a few ways to find us on Spotify. First, you’ll need a Spotify account. You can do that by going to www.spotify.com and creating a free account. Unless ads drive you nuts, a free account is all you’ll need. Then, follow us on our page and get email notifications each time we put out a new playlist. Download a desktop or mobile application to listen where ever you’re getting work done.

Music is such a wonderful thing. It has the power to influence us, move us, change or enhance our emotions and so much more. Why not capitalize on this power when you’re at work? Remember these tips, bookmark this page, save our playlist on Spotify or listen to it below. Your day is about to get SO much brighter. Get to werk!

Missed our other playlists? Check them out here:

Red Branch Media #WerkBranch productivity playlist cta