[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Do you listen to anything while working?
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       Ask HN: Do you listen to anything while working?
        
       I have found that music (and sound in general) can be a very
       powerful tool to help focus. But it goes both ways. Listening to
       the right, repetitive song or noises can help me achieve my focused
       "flow state" much faster. Conversely, listening to new music, music
       with lyrics, or any irregular noises will destroy my concentration
       pretty fast.  For me, I think it comes down to isolating myself
       from unexpected stimuli while trying to focus. Listening to a video
       game song on loop, relatively loudly to block out external noise,
       is something that has worked well for me.  However, everybody is
       different. Do you listen to music / white noise / etc while
       working? If so, what's your go-to?
        
       Author : uejfiweun
       Score  : 6 points
       Date   : 2021-11-15 21:29 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
       | browningstreet wrote:
       | I listen to Radio Paradise or Groove Salad, mostly on low volume,
       | usually on a speaker across the room from me (in my own office).
       | 
       | Just low enough to burble audibly and tune in if there's a song I
       | want to pay attention to, and quiet enough to provide whatever
       | white noise my brain requires for flow state stuff.
       | 
       | I've tried all the other things... and I don't really use albums
       | or playlists because there's always something to contend with and
       | invite the process of making choices. For me, it's best to either
       | go "eclectic rock is working", and if it's not then "let's hear
       | something more electronic".
       | 
       | Not having to think harder about it works well for me.
        
       | PaulHoule wrote:
       | Sometimes podcasts and interviews. Sometimes I am so engrossed in
       | work I don't remember what I heard in the last 20 minutes but I
       | think it still works for emotional modulation.
        
       | wruza wrote:
       | I'm listening to long asmr videos which have non-intrusive
       | repeating sounds which I personally like. No voice, no fast
       | changes. It helps masking the office ambience (a separate room
       | which still may be a bit noisy) and my irregular tinnitus. Music
       | usually interferes too much, unless it's "deep space" psytrance
       | or non-aggressive liquid/dnb/jungle sets on low volume. The
       | result is better with well-known tracks, but some new sounds
       | still do. Then there are atmospheric videos like fallout 4
       | glowing sea ambience (and similar on that channel).
       | 
       | Also, I don't mind playing two or more videos simultaneously by
       | mixing different types, e.g. (ambience, asmr, music) in some
       | volume combination. It helps not only to mask the environment,
       | but with proper lighting may also take you to a completely
       | different place.
        
       | abheek_vimal wrote:
       | I have noticed that in my 40-hour work week, I do about 10-15
       | hours of intense work which requires all my attention. For the
       | remainder, the work is not that demanding, and I can afford to do
       | other stuff as well. In this case, I have something going on in
       | the background - Spotify, Youtube, Netflix (Seinfeld is a
       | godsend), whatever keeps the juices flowing.
        
       | nicbou wrote:
       | Techno works well for me. I struggle with voices and spoken word
       | but repetitive beats work just fine.
        
       | ColinWright wrote:
       | I can't listen to anything. I need silence.
       | 
       | But I can't have silence, so I get as close as possible by using
       | a noise generator, and a set of earphones that really do block
       | out external noises.
        
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       (page generated 2021-11-15 23:03 UTC)