Music while working

I recently came across this masterpiece 😜 reading Scott Trench’s Set for Life.

Music at Work Ah, I can hear the shouts of disapproval already. Music in and of itself is a wonderful thing and is a wonderful way to entertain yourself. If you need a few minutes of your favorite song in the morning or like classical music while you work or need a few amped-up songs to get pumped for your workout, obviously it would be a mistake to cut that out. But music is not helping you achieve your goals when you are listening to your favorite rap, country, rock, pop, or typical popular music at work. That country station on the way to work can and should be swapped out for a book on tape or podcast on real estate, business, personal development, or something similarly productive. Music distracts you when you are working toward your goals. Period. This has been scientifically proven with the possible exception of listening to music within a narrow band of acceptable listening. Stop listening when you are trying to be productive, creative, or are otherwise involved in making important life or business decisions. Furthermore, even when you are not working directly toward your goals, free time and mindless, repetitive chores can be far more productive when you listen to content that helps you grow in business, personal life, or develop new skills. If you are listening to your favorite music artist, you must acknowledge that you are at that point prioritizing the recreational pursuit of listening to that song over your career, personal development, or other life goals. You could be doing better. Music doesn’t directly take away from your ability to do other things, but it could be replaced with something that will actually help move you toward your goals, and it’s a distraction. Over a long time period, such as a year, the person who forgoes music for self-education and development audio will have a massive advantage over the music listener.

If you ask me, I hate listening to music while working / any activity other than social gathering for a completely different. Listening to music creates a barrier for Deep Work. It’s impossible to be at your full capacity when your subconscious mind is getting distracted.