Skip to main content
  1. Dispatches/

Work Music

·264 words·2 mins
Daniel Andrlik
Author
Daniel Andrlik lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia. By day he manages product teams. The rest of the time he is a podcast host and producer, writer of speculative fiction, a rabid reader, and a programmer.

I have found that listening to the Clash or Morphine is particularly good for repetitive paperwork. The fast reggae-punk of the Clash and the sultry sound of the saxaphone in Morphine’s music get you into a groove that makes the process of data entry, filing and processing go so much faster.

For creative management work - like designing policies or scheduling employees - I have a playlist that is about ten hours long. Elvis Costello, Neutral Milk Hotel, Ani Difranco, Stuart Davis, Vigilantes of Love, Radiohead, Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, some classic Cure and some random songs from other artists. This is nice because you can sing along as you work and I find the variety of sounds helps spark different parts of my brain which makes me more creative.

For programming the best option is some electronica, and faster rock. Coding can get montonous even when you are on a roll, so it is good to keep your energy level up and moving with the music. The Clash is good here again for this reason. Also, an aggressive beat nicely echoes the inevitable frustration of dealing with a compiler and keeps you digging for a solution when it is attempting to give up. When I get stuck and need to contemplate a solution rather than pound away at it, I switch to either classical or the music of the Kodo drummers.

Music is such a boon to the creative process at work I am in awe of it. When faced with a problem, I play music. The solution will come.

Related

On Gaming And Other Diseases
·360 words·2 mins
Articles Assorted Geekery Games Personal
I have been reading blogs again after a short hiatus and in catching up with the material I missed I have encountered several entries regarding gaming. The question that seems to arise from all of them is: why do men get so drawn into these video games?
New Glasses
·36 words·1 min
Whoo-hoo! I finally got my new glasses! I can see without squinting again and computer work does not hurt anymore. I can read and type longer and longer before I get tired.
Party Roles
·522 words·3 mins
Articles Culture Personal
Recently I attended a party being thrown by a coworker’s girlfriend. D invited me along so he would have someone to talk to as his girlfriend was the only person there that he knew.