Listening to Music While Working

From Quartz, a guide to listening to music at work:

Research shows that music goes best with repetitive tasks that require focus but little higher-level cognition. A landmark 1972 study in Applied Ergonomics found that factory workers performed at a higher level when upbeat, happy tunes were played in the background.

But also:

Don’t fool yourself: Listening to music means that you are multitasking. Any cognitive resources that your brain expends — on understanding lyrics, processing emotions that are triggered by a song, or remembering where you were when you first heard it — won’t be available to help you work.

Studies have shown that reading comprehension and memorization both suffer when music is playing, for example.

Okay so here is my secret Pandora station I love to listen to while working sometimes. Yes, it’s a Pandora station based off of “Rock-a-Bye Baby” and is meant for babies to listen to while they sleep. Yes, you will hear lullaby versions of Aerosmith and Scorpions. Yes, it’s the best thing ever.

Photo: Loic Le Meur

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