I listen to music when I’m doing work that I’m not unusually interested in. It helps me zone out background noise and keeps me from jumping online to waste time reading something more interesting. I can never listen to new music while studying though and overly complex music (particularly classical) ends up drawing my attention and I end up following the music. I prefer dance music, it is repetitive enough that I don’t have to listen to every note to follow it, it usually has few lyrics and the beat energizes me.
Next time I have a paper I’ll try to stop the music once I’ve gotten a good start and see if that makes a difference.
Additional anecdotal evidence:
I listen to music when I’m doing work that I’m not unusually interested in. It helps me zone out background noise and keeps me from jumping online to waste time reading something more interesting. I can never listen to new music while studying though and overly complex music (particularly classical) ends up drawing my attention and I end up following the music. I prefer dance music, it is repetitive enough that I don’t have to listen to every note to follow it, it usually has few lyrics and the beat energizes me.
Next time I have a paper I’ll try to stop the music once I’ve gotten a good start and see if that makes a difference.