Work Music

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.