Get Productive: Peak Your Productivity With This Simple Daily Routine That Actually Worths $400,000 Today

This is the only routine that you need to follow in the daily hustle and bustle.

Let’s begin with the story behind this routine…

By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world.

Schwab was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in America at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab as the “master hustler.” He was constantly seeking an edge over the competition.

One day in 1918, in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done, Schwab arranged a meeting with a highly-respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee.

Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, “Show me a way to get more things done.”

“Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives,” Lee replied.

“How much will it cost me,” Schwab asked.

“Nothing,” Lee said. “Unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it’s worth to you.”

Here’s the routine:

During his 15 minutes with each executive, Lee explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity:

1. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.
2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
3. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
4. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.
5. Repeat this process every working day.

The strategy sounded simple, but Schwab and his executive team at Bethlehem Steel gave it a try. After three months, Schwab was so delighted with the progress his company had made that he called Lee into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000.

A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000 check in 2015.

The Ivy Lee Method of prioritizing your to-do list seems stupidly simple. How could something this simple be worth so much? Well, the followings are what make the daily routine so effective.

On Managing Priorities Well

Ivy Lee’s productivity method utilizes a number of important productivity concepts. Here’s what makes it so effective:

It’s simple enough to actually work.

The primary critique of methods like this one is that they are too basic. They don’t account for all of the complexities and nuances of life. What happens if an emergency pops up? What about using the latest technology to our fullest advantage? In my experience, complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to get back on track. Yes, emergencies and unexpected distractions will arise. Ignore them as much as possible, deal with them when you must, and get back to your prioritized to-do list as soon as possible. Use simple rules to guide complex behavior.

It forces you to make tough decisions.

I don’t believe there is anything magical about Lee’s number of six important tasks per day. It could just as easily be five tasks per day. However, I do think there is something magical about imposing limits upon yourself. I find that the single best thing to do when you have too many ideas (or when you’re overwhelmed by everything you need to get done) is to prune your ideas and trim away everything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Constraints can make you better. Lee’s method is similar to Warren Buffett’s 25-5 Rule, which requires you to focus on just 5 critical tasks and ignore everything else. Basically, if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything.

It removes the friction of starting.

The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. (Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you actually start running it is much easier to finish your workout.) Lee’s method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. This strategy has been incredibly useful for me: as a writer, I can waste three or four hours debating what I should write about on a given day. If I decide the night before, however, I can wake up and start writing immediately. It’s simple, but it works. In the beginning, getting started is just as important as succeeding at all.

It requires you to single-task.

Modern society loves multi-tasking. The myth of multi-tasking is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. Study world-class experts in nearly any field—athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs—and you’ll discover one characteristic runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You can’t be great at one task if you’re constantly dividing your time ten different ways. Mastery requires focus and consistency.

The Myth of Multitasking

Yes, we are capable of doing two things at the same time. It is possible, for example, to watch TV while cooking dinner or to answer an email while talking on the phone.

What is impossible, however, is concentrating on two tasks at once. Multitasking forces your brain to switch back and forth very quickly from one task to another.

This wouldn’t be a big deal if the human brain could transition seamlessly from one job to the next, but it can’t. Multitasking forces you to pay a mental price each time you interrupt one task and jump to another. In psychology terms, this mental price is called the switching cost.

Switching cost is the disruption in performance that we experience when we switch our attention from one task to another. A 2003 study published in the International Journal of Information Management found that the typical person checks email once every five minutes and that, on average, it takes 64 seconds to resume the previous task after checking your email.

In other words, because of email alone we typically waste one out of every six minutes.

Doing more things does not drive faster or better results. Doing better things drives better results. Even more accurately, doing one thing as best you can drives better results.

The bottom line? Do the most important thing first each day. It’s the only productivity trick you need.

This post is adapted from jamesclear.com. 

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Get Productive: Getting Motivated Is Easier Than You Thought, But Most People Do It Wrong – Here’s How Successful People Do It

“The standard approach seems to be to listen to a motivational speech or read an inspirational book and then feel motivated. It’s true, this type of passive inspiration can work. But this is only one type of inspiration … and I think it’s the weaker type…”

When we feel overwhelmed or get less motivated, we tend to procrastinate. We usually lose motivation when we need it the most unfortunately.

What is Motivation indeed?

What is motivation, exactly? Scientists define motivation as your general willingness to do something. It is the set of psychological forces that compel you to take action.

Here’s a more useful definition:

The author Steven Pressfield has a great line in his book, The War of Art, which I think gets at the core of motivation. To paraphrase Pressfield,

At some point, the pain of not doing it becomes greater than the pain of doing it.

In other words, at some point it is easier to change than to stay the same. It is easier to feel insecure at the gym than to experience self-loathing on the couch. It is easier to feel awkward while making the sales call than to feel disappointed about not taking action. Each choice has a price, but when we are motivated it is easier to take action than to remain still.

This, I think, is the essence of motivation. When we feel motivated, we want to take action. When we don’t feel motivated, we want to remain the same. Somehow we cross a mental threshold—usually after weeks of procrastination and in the face of an impending deadline—and it becomes more painful to not do the work than to actually do it.

Now for the important question: Is there anything we can do to make it more likely that we cross this mental threshold and feel motivated on a consistent basis?

The Myth of Motivation: How to Get Motivated?

One of the most surprising things about motivation is that it often comes after starting a new behavior, not before. We have this common misconception that motivation is something that precedes action. We believe that motivation originates in a passive state and then we follow through with some type of action.

The standard approach seems to be to listen to a motivational speech or read an inspirational book and then feel motivated. It’s true, this type of passive inspiration can work. But this is only one type of inspiration … and I think it’s the weaker type.

What is I think is far more powerful is active inspiration. Getting started, even in very small ways, is a form of active inspiration that naturally produces momentum.

You have probably experienced this phenomenon before. For example, going for a 30-minute run may seem overwhelming before you begin, but if you can muster up the energy to take the first steps, you’ll often find that you become more motivated to finish as you go. In many cases, motivation rises as tasks near completion. In other words, it’s easier to finish the run than it was to start it in the first place.

This is basically Newton’s First Law applied to habit formation: objects in motion tend to stay in motion. And that means getting started is the hardest part.

This is also a far more gracious and forgiving way to view your behavior. So often we judge ourselves and assume that if we have the motivation to stick with good habits, then we must lack willpower or have some weakness. Instead, the philosophy of active inspiration reveals that you don’t lack some magical component of willpower, you simply need to take action and let motivation follow accordingly.

So how do we make getting started easier? Let’s talk about that now.

Why Successful People Don’t Wait for Motivation

In his popular book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, author Mason Currey notes that many of the world’s great artists follow a consistent schedule.

• Maya Angelou rents a local hotel room and goes there to write. She arrives at 6:30 AM, writes until 2 PM, and then goes home to do some editing. She never sleeps at the hotel.
• Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon writes five nights per week from 10 PM to 3 AM.
• Haruki Murakami wakes up at 4 AM, writes for five hours, and then goes for a run.

The work of top creatives isn’t dependent upon motivation or inspiration, but rather it follows a consistent pattern and routine. It’s the mastering of daily habits that leads to motivation and creative success, not some mythical spark of genius.

Here’s why…

How to Get Addicted to Taking Action

William James, the famous psychologist, is noted for saying that habits and schedules are important because they “free our minds to advance to really interesting fields of action.”

An article in The Guardian agreed by saying, “If you waste resources trying to decide when or where to work, you’ll impede your capacity to do the work.” And there are plenty of research studies on willpower and motivation to back up that statement.

Want to know how to be motivated every day? Stop waiting for motivation and inspiration to strike you and simply set a schedule for doing work on a consistent basis.

Daily Routines: The Power of the Schedule

During a conversation about writing, my friend Sarah Peck looked at me and said, “A lot of people never get around to writing because they are always wondering when they are going to write next.”

You could say the same thing about working out, starting a business, creating art, and building most habits. The schedule is the system that makes your goals a reality. If you don’t set a schedule for yourself, then your only option is to rely on motivation.

• If your workout doesn’t have a time when it usually occurs, then each day you’ll wake up thinking, “I hope I feel motivated to exercise today.”
• If your business doesn’t have a system for marketing, then you’ll show up at work crossing your fingers that you’ll find a way to get the word out (in addition to everything else you have to do).
• If you don’t have a time block to write every week, then you’ll find yourself saying things like, “I just need to find the willpower to do it.”

Stop waiting for motivation or inspiration to strike you and set a schedule for your habits. This is the difference between professionals and amateurs. Professionals set a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired or motivated.

This post is adapted from jamesclear.com. 

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Get Productive: Do This One Thing And You’ll Never Look Back And Wonder Where The Time Went On Your Busy Days

Have you ever made it to the end of the day, looked back and wondered where the day went? You know you were busy but what were you busy with actually?

That’s what happens when we work in a reactive mode, simply responding to the wants and needs of everyone else. When we keep reacting passively to the demand from others, we get out of balance and will never get our most important things done.

If you want to get things done, you have to be intentionally PROACTIVE.

Reactive vs Proactive

The common definition is that a proactive task is a task that you want to do, and reactive task is a task that someone else wants you to do. However, this definition is not very useful.

Better definition would be: Proactive task is a task that is aligned with your long term-goals that has a strong long-term benefit, and reactive task is a task that brings very little long-term benefit. Reactive tasks are usually not results of planning, they are more likely to appear in the heat of the moment.

Reactive tasks make you living, proactive tasks make you successful.

Reactive and proactive tasks usually have these common characteristics. Study this comparison table carefully to fully understand and realise the differences:

Vast majority of urgent and not important tasks are reactive, and vast majority of important and not urgent tasks are proactive.

Another way to put it: Reactive tasks are usually not important, and proactive tasks are very important, especially in the long run.

The Ideal Ratio of Reactive Tasks vs Proactive Tasks

Perhaps that spending time strictly on proactive tasks is the holy grail of personal achievement, but it is not attainable for the most of us.

However, spending 80% time on proactive tasks and just 20% of time on reactive tasks is a realistic goal that everyone can achieve. Once you achieve this balance, your life will be forever different – in the best possible way.

Why? Because you will be moving in the right direction, every day, every week, every month, every year, building your better life step by step. The results will stick. Every day will be better than the last one. Sure, there will be some up and downs, but the general trend will be unquestionable. Sky is the limit. But what is most important: You will slowly become your own boss.

The Link Between Proactive Tasks and Procrastination

Whenever you are doing reactive tasks instead of proactive tasks, you are procrastinating.

You see, what procrastination does is this: It makes you do reactive tasks instead of proactive tasks, because they are easier, safer, and with immediate benefits. For all I know, you could add tasks like “Play PC games” to your to-do list together with other reactive tasks and complete them with great satisfaction and feeling of productivity. That’s how it works.

Procrastination is the one-eyed leader of your brain and body. It’s the last thing you need – what you really need is a commander in a plane that will allow you to see the broader context.

Simple Exercise To Raise Your Awareness

1. Go through your to-do lists and count all reactive tasks and all proactive tasks. (To get more accurate result, do NOT count everyday tasks that must be done regardless of other circumstances. Don’t count tasks like “feed the baby”, “buy groceries”, “get the velociraptor out of my bedroom” etc).

2. Now is the time to do the math and calculate the ratio:

• Take the total number of reactive + proactive tasks (eg. 43 reactive and 15 proactive is 58 in total)
• Divide it by 100 (you get 0,58 in this example)
• Now divide the number of your reactive tasks by that number (eg. 43 / 0,58 = 74%)
• Divide the number of your proactive tasks too (eg. 15 / 0,58 = 26%)

We just calculated that we are spending 74% of our time on reactive tasks and only 26% of our time on proactive tasks in our example. That’s not very good!

How To Spend More Time On Proactive Tasks

So you would like to spend more time on proactive tasks? Good! It’s not a rocket science. Here are some tips:

• Can you eliminate some of the reactive tasks? Create new to-do list called “Never To-Do” and just move them there
• Can you create more proactive tasks? Ideally some tasks that you are passionate about. If you can come up with some tasks that create a burning desire inside you, you are on the right path.
• Learn to say “No.” Being assertive is crucial. When someone delegates you a task that you don’t want to do, just say it outright. You have more important things to do.
• Not all tasks from others are reactive – even tasks from others can be proactive, especially when they are aligned with your long-term goals. When you share your goals with your boss or business partner, proactive tasks come naturally. But, if you want something completely different than your boss, perhaps it’s the time to look for a new boss.

This article originally appeared in Dextronet.

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Get Productive: Checking Email Before Noon Drains Your Energy And Makes You Unproductive, This Is Why

I’m about to tell you why checking email before noon actually drains your energy and makes you unproductive for the rest of the day, but let me first tell you a story about an American competition swimmer, who’s also an Olympic gold medalist — Dana Vollmer.

Dana Vollmer did not have an easy road to the Olympics.

Vollmer is an olympic swimmer, but it wasn’t just the grueling practice schedule that made her journey to the top difficult. At the age of 15, Vollmer discovered that she had a heart disorder known as long QT syndrome. She had heart surgery later that year, but the operation didn’t eliminate the risk of heart failure. (Even today, her mother watches swim meets from the stands with a defibrillator between her feet.)

When Vollmer finally qualified for the Women’s 100m butterfly at the 2012 Olympics in London, it was her heart that got all of the attention. Little did she know that her head was about to be the problem…

As soon as Vollmer entered the pool in the 100m Final, her swim cap came off.

Without the Swim Cap, She Got Dragged.

Professional swimmers wear latex swim caps that tightly cover their head to reduce drag in the water. Nearly every swimmer wears them, but swim caps are especially important for female swimmers. If a female swimmer loses her swim cap and her hair flows out into the water, then it can significantly increase the drag that she must swim against during the race. In a highly competitive race like an olympic final, this additional drag force can be the difference between winning and losing.

This is why nearly all professional swimmers wear not just one, but two swim caps. That’s exactly what Vollmer did. Although her top swim cap flipped off, her second cap stayed in place allowing her to not only avoid disaster, but also win the gold medal and set a new world record in the process.

Now, let’s get to the real fun. What does wearing swim caps have to do with living a better life and getting more productive?

Physical Drag vs. Mental Drag

Imagine that your brain is a computer. At the beginning of the day, your brain powers up and you have 100 percent of your computer memory available to use on your life. The only problem is that every time you add a task to your to-do list, a little bit of your computer memory goes toward that task.

If you open your email in the morning and see three messages that you need to respond to later on, there goes three percent of your computer memory. If you have to remember to take your child to practice after school or pick up the dry cleaning or go to the grocery store, there goes a little bit more memory. The more tasks that are left unfinished, the more memory gets used up remembering, thinking, worrying, and planning for those tasks.

Here’s the punchline: If your brain is constantly filled with all of these secondary tasks, how much memory do you have left over to do meaningful work? 70 percent? 50 percent? Even less?

Trying to do your best work with a distracted brain is like trying to swim for a gold medal without a swim cap. Divided attention is like a thick head of hair creating a constant drag in your mental waters. Split your attention in too many directions and you’ll be paralyzed.

Swimmers realize that if they want to perform at their best, they need to get out of their own way. They need to cover the object that creates drag—their hair—for the race. Does this mean that their hair is bad? No, of course not. Similarly, there is nothing “bad” about your daily to-do list, handling your family responsibilities, or taking care of the emergencies that pop up throughout life. It’s just that when you want to perform at your best, you have to make a deliberate choice to tuck those things away for a few moments.

How can we expect to do our best work if we are constantly fighting mental drag?

Reduce the Drag Forces That Hold You Back

I don’t consider myself to be an expert in peak performance. I’m working through these issues just like you are. We’re on this journey together. But I have taken a few steps to give myself a better chance of hitting the bullseye in my own work, and I’m happy to share those with you…

Manage your energy, not your time.

I have noticed that my creative energy is highest in the morning. That’s when I’m fresh. That’s when I do my best writing. That’s when I make the best strategic decisions about my business. So, what do I do? I schedule creative tasks for the morning. All other business tasks are taken care of in the afternoon. This includes doing interviews, responding to emails, phone calls and Skype chats, data analysis and number crunching. Nearly every productivity strategy obsesses over managing your time better, but time is useless if you don’t have the energy you need to complete the task you are working on.

Never check email before noon.

If I don’t check email at the beginning of the day, then I am able to spend the morning pursuing my own agenda rather than reacting to everybody else’s agenda. That’s a huge win because I’m not wasting mental energy thinking about all the messages in my inbox. I realize that waiting until the afternoon isn’t feasible for many people, but I’d like to offer a challenge. Can you wait until 10AM? What about 9AM? 8:30AM? Don’t get wrapped up in the exact time frame. The point of this strategy is to allow yourself some time during your morning where you can work on what is most important to you without letting the rest of the world dictate your mental state.

Leave your phone in another room.

I usually don’t see my phone for the first few hours of the day. It is much easier to do focused work when you don’t have any text messages, phone calls, or alerts interrupting your focus.

Work in full screen mode.

Nearly every application on my computer is in full screen mode. If I’m reading an article on the web, my browser takes up the whole screen. If I’m writing in Evernote, I’m working in full screen mode. If I’m editing a picture in Photoshop, it is the only thing I can see. I have set up my desktop so that the menu bar disappears automatically. When I am working, I can’t see the time, the icons of other applications, or any other distractions on the screen. It’s funny how big of a difference this makes. If you can see an icon on your screen, then you will be reminded to click on it occasionally. However, if you remove the visual cue then the urge to be distracted subsides in a few minutes.

Remove all tasks that could distract from early morning focus.

I love doing the most important thing first each day because the urgencies of the day have not crept in yet. I have gone a little far in this regard in that I have even pushed my first meal off until about noon each day. I have been intermittent fasting for three years now (here are some lessons learned), which means that I typically eat most of my meals between 12PM and 8PM. The result is that I get some additional time in the morning to do focused work rather than cook breakfast.

Creative Work First

The single most important change you can make in your working habits is to switch to creative work first, reactive work second. This means blocking off a large chunk of time every day for creative work on your own priorities, with the phone and e-mail off.
–Mark McGuinness, Manage Your Day-to-Day

The best way to avoid mental drag is to give yourself the time and space to do important work before distractions can creep into your day.

Creating meaningful work is hard, even in optimal circumstances. Put on a swim cap and tuck your distractions away for a few moments. Give yourself the opportunity to perform at your best.

This post is adapted from jamesclear.com. 

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3 Brain-Training Apps Productive People Use To Kill Time

It’s a common scenario. You have five or ten minutes to kill as you wait for a bus, or you want something to occupy your mind during your boring commute. You take out your phone and scroll mindlessly through your social media feeds, or perhaps catch up on the latest celebrity gossip.

But what if you could use these minutes to learn a new skill, sharpen your cognitive abilities and change your brain for the better? Luckily, there are several great brain-training apps you can use to alleviate your boredom and give your mind a workout at the same time, as this act can give us great benefits by improving our work performance.

Check out the following three apps:

Elevate – Brain Training

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (200,637 users)

When you start using Elevate, you will receive three daily challenges across five skill groups that will boost your performance in key areas such as memory, attention and listening. Elevate will keep track of your progress and recommend new activities based on your results. With over 35 activities, it is an all-in-one brain training regimen.

Memory Trainer

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (31,663 users)

This app will definitely give your memory a boost if you use it on a regular basis. Its collection of exercises has proven to be a popular app for helping develop stronger visual and spatial memory skills. Not only that, but it will improve your concentration levels, which will have a beneficial effect in all areas of your life. Reviewers say that the app is easy to use and that the activities are enjoyable.

Lumosity – Brain Training 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (45,720 users)

This app has been downloaded over 70 million times. It includes over 25 games that will strengthen your cognitive skills in a number of domains including attention and memory. The games are well-designed and offer an engaging, fun way to boost your mental capacity.

So what are you waiting for? Download these apps today and make the most of your time on the train or the minutes you spend in line waiting for your morning coffee.

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Get Productive: Greatly Boost Your Work Performance With These Right Kinds Of Music (The Wrong Ones Will Break Your Productivity!)

With so much of our time being spent at work, and so much of our work being done on computers, music has become inseparable from our modern-day workplace.

Some people want to listen to the music while working to make the day-to-day tasks more interesting while looking at screens; while some actually want to keep themselves more focus by shutting out the outside world and distractions. But if you aren’t listening to the right music, you’ll become inefficient at work and your work performance will be greatly affected.

Let’s take a look at the research.

Music May Help Make Repetitive Tasks Easier

When evaluating music’s effectiveness in increasing productive output, one element to consider how “immersive” the task on hand is.

This refers to the variability and creative demand of the task—writing a brand new essay from scratch is synthesis work that demands a lot of creativity; answering your emails is mundane work that does not.

When the task is clearly defined and is repetitive in nature, the research seems to suggest that music is definitely useful.

A series of experiments has investigated the relationship between the playing of background music during the performance of repetitive work and efficiency in performing such a task. The results give strong support to the contention that economic benefits can accure from the use of music in industry.

More modern studies would argue that it perhaps isn’t the background noise of the music itself, but rather the improved mood that your favorite music creates that is the source of this bump in productivity.

Music with a dissonant tone was found to have no impact to productivity, while music in the major mode had different results: “Subjects hearing BGM (background music) achieved greater productivity when BGM was in the major mode.”

The effects music can have in relation to repetitive tasks were further explored in this study, which showcased how assembly line workers displayed signs of increased happiness and efficiency while listening to music.

In A Noisy Workplace, Music May Be An Escape

Despite the somewhat variable effects of music on the individual, one thing is definitely clear: A noisy workplace can end up halting productivity in its tracks.

Perhaps a pair of headphones may not be as distracting as some bosses tend to think:

Dr. Lesiuk’s research focuses on how music affects workplace performance. In one study involving information technology specialists, she found that those who listened to music completed their tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t, because the music improved their mood.

Again we see that mood is the main argument made.

The idea that headphones might beat out the constant yapping of your office co-workers has caused somewhat of a debate due to the rising popularity of open offices.

While the open space may encourage more collaboration, the chatter can be too much for some people to handle—I know that when I’ve worked in an open workspace, I couldn’t focus on writing without my headphones.

But Music Seems To Interfere with Learning

When it comes to absorbing and retaining new information, distraction in any form is a huge no-no.

According to this research, music is no exception. Participants had a much more difficult time recalling a complex task when they had listened to music.

Music demands too much of your attention—even when the sounds are subtle—to be listened to when you are trying to learn or analyze new information.

Imagine trying to “read above your level,” or reading material that is outside your expertise, while being pulled away by the sound of music. It makes an already difficult task nearly impossible.

Ambient Noise May Be the Creative Sweet Spot

For those that do benefit in listening to music during creative sessions, an “ambient” presence of music appears to work best.

Researchers have shown that a moderate noise level can really get creative juices flowing, but that too much noise has the opposite effect.

This would imply that music with especially low-lows or especially high-highs should be avoided.

Deep basses and screeching synths might get you energized, but when listening and engaging in deep work, favor a more mellow sound.

Lyrics Can Be Very Distracting

For those low-immersion activities I mentioned above, music with lyrics can offer huge benefits. As an example, studies clearly show that listening to music can help us with intense exercise (anyone who’s ever been inside a gym could tell you that!)

But with immersive tasks, lyrics are especially destructive to our focus.

Since listening to words activates the language center of your brain, trying to engage in other language related tasks (like writing) would be akin to trying to hold a conversation while another person talks over you… while also strumming a guitar.

Lyrics might not have the same effect for creative tasks that don’t directly deal with “verbal architecture,” such as designing. This study that looked at software developers suggested that music helped their output while working; I would still argue that for any language-based task, you should steer clear.

Familiarity Is Best For Focus

It may be beneficial to listen to music you are familiar with if you need to intensely focus for a project.

The reason being is that new music is surprising; since you don’t know what to expect, you are inclined to listen closely to see what comes next. With familiar music, you know what lies ahead and thus the sound doesn’t become your primary focus.

While the “journey” of new music is certainly beneficial in other ways, you may want to tread a familiar path if you are using music to help get things done.

Choose What Works Best For You

1. Classical Music (Baroque)

Why it works

Lacking in lyrics and often considered to be the apex of the craft, classical music is a popular choice for getting things done.

One study in particular made it very clear that Baroque-period tunes appear to have a measurable impact on productivity. The study only had 8 radiologists as subjects, however all but one reported that the classical music had a notable improvement on their concentration.

Noting what we’ve discussed above, not all classical music is created equal here—the dramatic twists and turns of “Toccata & Fugue in D minor” might not be as appropriate as the more delicate sounds of “Für Elise.”

Where to listen:

• Reddit thread, “I’m new to classical music, where should I begin?“
• Freely licensed files on Wikipedia
• Reddit’s r/ Baroque music
• Classical music for exams on Spotify
• Pandora’s Baroque station

2. Electronic Music

Why it works

In electronic music, “ambient electronica”—and its sub-genres of chillout, downtempo, ambient house, and far too many others—all tend to fit our need for ‘present but unobtrusive.’

This genre also tends to be repetitive, in a good way.

Unlike all of the ups and downs of a symphonic piece, there are quite a few producers out there who aim to create ‘soundscapes’ (anyone remember Gabe from The Office?) that focus on a few melodies that repeat and build on each other.

The song’s focus will help your focus, as the repeating tones are nice to have going in the background.

Where to listen

• Reddit’s r/Chillmusic
• Reddit’s r/Futurebeats
• Majestic Casual
• SoundCloud

3. Video Game Music

Why it works

Game design actually entails an incredible amount of depth, and great game composers know that the ideal music for certain situations is music that can be played in the background and not distract the player.

Composers for games understand and know how to create music that blends in to the background; don’t let the “gamer” stigma fool you here.

One of the most popular suggestions of all time on Reddit for “music that helps with concentration” was the SimCity soundtrack, which I found surprising.

It actually makes perfect sense, as Maxis specifically designed the music to be enjoyable but subtle enough that it wouldn’t distract you from the myriad of things you needed to do in order to build your city.

You can download the .zip here of all the songs, and I think you’ll see below why this soundtrack and other game music makes for some excellent ambient noise.

Where to listen

• OverClocked Remix
• VGMusic.com
• Reddit’s r/GameMusic

4. Anything else that may be “low key”

If vocals don’t bug you that much during work, give them a go.

Jazz, hip-hop, indie rock, blues, and everything under the sun are really up for grabs here, but remember that “ambient” is the word of the day for a productive session with music playing, at least if you’re engaged in deep work.

Where to listen

• Reddit’s r/Music For Concentration
• Music for programming
• Spotify

This article originally appeared on Sparring Mind.

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