When digital music became available in mass quantity, first through MP3s and then by streaming, I did what everyone did and queued my favorite music to play in the background all the time. I still enjoy listening to music intently on high-quality equipment, but I have to be honest, it had become just pleasant background noise.

As I was listening and working, I began to realize that some music motivated me to be more active while other music allowed my mind to wander off and I became less productive. That is when I started alternating the styles of music around what I wanted to accomplish. This made me realize that music doesn’t need to be just background noise – you can actually use it functionally.

As I wrote in a previous article that some of you may remember, large factories use music to motivate their workers on the assembly line. Like most people I have a knee-jerk reaction to this and I consider it manipulative, especially without the worker’s consent. Yet I now work for myself, so why not use this to improve my own productivity?

Choosing Music To Motivate Myself

In that previous article, I used jazz as an example. Now I realize jazz may not be for everyone, and it may also not be for every situation. This is also the case with me - sometimes I require classic rock to get me motivated to churn through repetitive work. Then at other times I need some classical to help me stay focused at the computer.

For example when I exercise, I really have two genres, depending on the type of workout. For walking, hiking and running, I listen with earphones to to melodic Electronic Dance Music like Deadmaus, Groove Armada, and more modern acts like Showtek to keep me moving. I suppose that the repetitive beat encourages me to keep pace with it, which then leads to longer workouts.

Some days, I need a bit more than a beat to get me moving (we all have of those days). That's when I reach for harder rock like Metallica, some Ice-T infused preaching from Body Count, or I’ll go full on Viking with some Tyr. The bottom line is that I usually need something heavy or fast to get me moving because my exercises tend to lag when I have to listen to other stuff like a podcast.

When I drive to a meeting, I typically listen to classic rock. The quality of car radios is not very high, so music sounds bad already; then there is the road and car noise (no I don't drive a Maybach around town). Because of this, my car music is more mid-range and vocal. It's mostly classic rock – anything from early 60's The Who to 80's Journey will do.

Not only do I look to adapt the music to my environment, but I also adapt it to the mood I need to be in. If I'm feeling cheeky, I may even venture out to country and blues, like a little Old Dominion or Kris Barras. Since I’m driving, it also needs to keep me awake so I need to be able to crank the volume up, too. YMMV.

In sharp contrast to this, when I write, I need to slow things down a bit. That is when I reach for music that focuses me, that has less bass and less dynamic range. This is when I’ll chose jazz, typically, easy jazz like this saxophonist from London that I discovered recently called Nubya Garcia. Sometimes jazz also has to be listened to with attention and no distractions from work, but when I'm writing smooth jazz is my go-to style.

At other times I will opt for classical and for writing I’ll chose baroque styles like Georg Philipp Telemann, or some Arcangelo Corelli, over something more boisterous like a Beethoven symphony. Yes, Beethoven can have beautifully moving slow passages, but you always know that this is just to lull you into a hole of anticipation, only to be ambushed by a full jolt of emotion shortly thereafter.

The symphonic works of Beethoven, Wagner, Mendelsohnn, Sibelius, and even young Mozart don't always make for good work music to me as I always find myself wandering off. For these pieces I need to take the record back to my home theater room, turn down the lights and listen with full attention. I know it may seem strange to some people, but listening intently can be an emotional rollercoaster and turn into a concerted mental workout.

No, not all classical is relaxing; and no, that is not work-music.

Why this matters for productivity

Well, over time, our mind starts to associate music with the activities performed when that music is  playing. This is very helpful if we need to get motivated for an activity when we really would rather watch funny TikTok videos. Music becomes a tool we can use to generate motivation - all we have to do is turn the right music on for each activity.

In turn, familiar music keeps us concentrated on the task we have come to associate with it. This is most obvious when working out. It just becomes a habit. Exercises become easier when the mind is not on deadlines, bills, and personal problems.

In this way, the music transports me away. When I listen to EDM when I exercise, my mind wanders to distant places and helps me forget how tired my muscles are. I measured this effect some time back. I found that I cover at least 25% more distance running or walking with music than without.

So the next time you need to “get in the mood” to start on your presentation, get moving on dinner for the kids, or get your but off the couch and outside, consider the music you listened to the last time you did that activity. Chances are, just putting on the same music will motivate you to get going again.

It's such a simple thing to do, yet it can definitely improve your productivity. If you’re going to listen to music while you work anyhow, why not make it useful for you. Become selective about what you listen to and when and you will become more productive because of the power of association.

What do you have to lose for trying it?