How To Reclaim Your Focus
Time to get your focus back, and boost productivity.

Focus is elusive, fragile, and priceless. Good focus sessions can make or break your workday. When it comes to generating and maintaining focus at work, the correct type of music can sharpen your concentration, improve productivity, and even enhance your mood. The wrong kind of music can shatter concentration, de-harmonise your flow, and destroy your job satisfaction. Here's how you can use music to your advantage when working.
Advice - You Need To Balance Familiarity With Novelty
Research suggests that music affects how well we think and perform tasks in two main ways:
- Predictability: Familiar music helps you to maintain 'cognitive clarity'. This aids with tasks requiring memorisation or the processing of new information. It allows your brain to focus without the distraction of unpredictability.
- Novelty: On the other hand, unfamiliar music can provide just the right amount of excitement. Its unpredictability, like jazz, keeps you interested. Mixing it up a little if you need prolonged concentration keeps your mind alert.
How To Make Your Playlist Match Your To-Do List
Not all beats are equal. Here's a breakdown of what science says works best depending on your work requirements:
- Writing and Reading: For tasks involving languages, such as writing or reading, avoid music with lyrics in your native language. Lyrics can distract you as your brain works to process the words. Opt for instrumental music or songs in a foreign language. Researchers have long debated the "Mozart Effect." Still, classical music provides a good balance of stimulation without distraction. If you don't like Mozart, then composers like Beethoven and Chopin have also been shown to be effective. Try cranking up some Tchaikovsky if you're in a mood and need to channel that vibe into your work!
- Coding or Data Analysis: When performing structured tasks, such as coding or data analysis, fast-paced music with a consistent rhythm, like rock or electronic music, can help maintain moment m. Focusing on coding is like getting lost in a video game. Old-school 8-bit and 16-bit retro soundtracks, like for Tetris, have been keeping people glued to screens for decades!
- Inbox and Emails: Light instrumental music or ambient chill background sound can create a productive atmosphere if your job involves frequent emails or chat communication. Music without distracting elements works well when you're writing quick responses.
Expert Advice - Here's The Surprising Science
Yiren Ren, a cognitive neuroscientist at Georgia Tech, says music is an 'emotional tool' that can change how you feel and think. Her research shows familiar tunes help you focus, while fresh beats keep you locked in for longer. The key is finding out which type of music suits your workflow—and your work culture and environment. Familiar music helps you remember stuff, but new beats can shake things up and help you push through boring, repetitive tasks with a little unpredictability.
Four Practical Tips for Using Music to Boost Focus
- Match Tunes to Tasks: Align your music choice with the type of task you're doing. Classical or instrumental music is ideal for tasks like writing, helping you focus without distractions. For very structured work, like debugging code, high BPM music - Rock or EDM - is more effective in maintaining momentum and energy.
- Use Playlists: Create playlists or find existing ones. Many platforms, such as Spotify and YouTube, offer curated playlists like "Focus" or "Deep Work," designed specifically to help you concentrate. Bear in mind that quality can vary.
- Trial and Error: Not every tune can make the top ten. So Experiment. Try our different genres and, tempos and artists to find what helps you focus best on various tasks. What you normally listen to may not be the best work soundtrack.
- Turn It Off When Necessary: Remember, sometimes the best music to aid focus is no music at all. Sometimes, the sound of silence is better.
Turning the right tunes up to 11 will boost your productivity and help you stay focused. Whether you're writing, coding, packing boxes, stock-checking, driving, or designing: the key is picking the right music for the task. Try different genres and tempos to see what keeps you in the zone. With some trial and error, you'll find the right set to boost your concentration and get more done.
Good Things Happen When You Dance To Your Own Tune
Are you stuck in a shared space with piped music? If your boss blasts death metal while you're struggling to think, it's time for a change. Find a new job on Monster and work somewhere that suits your vibe!