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Best genre, artist, playlist etc., to boost productivity when writing?
I'm currently working on a research paper (low-threat undergrad coursework), and I keep alternating between Lofi hip-hop and gentle acoustic pop covers to keep me motivated and on task. I've tried to get into a variety of classical music for this purpose, but I always end up rolling back to my Samuel Barber playlist and end up burning out on it. What's your go-to for productivity enhancement?
I always listen to Chopin because there are no words to distract me and the tempo ebbs and flows keeping my thoughts flexible. Piano recordings of the Etudes and Nocturnes are my go to.
I've heard that video game music can be excellent for concentration but I never tried it!!
I really like Lena Raine's soundtracks, specifically Celeste!
Deep Focus on Spotify
I'm firmly in the House/Eurodance/Techno/Jpop camp, for programming, writing and driving. Low BPMs are stressful and ruin focus.
I used to do a lot of Classical and Lo-Fi music in the past, but recently I've found a lot of non-lyrical mathrock works very well. I find that mathrock can have a bit more energy that I like.
The first System of a Down album, the song 'State of the Union' by Rise against, some Botch songs, Silversun Pickups. Kind of high energy gritty songs i guess is what does it for me.
For me it's been vaporwave playlists on YouTube. I'm a child of the 80s, and though I occasionally hear some riffs or hooks that sound familiar, nothing is exact enough to pull me off course and its still familiar enough to enjoy
Sometimes if you really need to get to work right this instant, it's great to switch to uptempo stuff. I remember writing a paper while listening to Through the Fire and the Flames back when Guitar Hero made it popular and, dang, I was able to absolutely hammer that thing out. I think I was even trying to type in time with the music. That meant I was forced to keep writing, essentially without thought, which really got the creative juices flowing, even if it probably didn't result in the most well thought-out paper in history. It also made it much more fun.
Otherwise, I think I would often try softer music a lot but I kind of need the faster/more moving music to keep me going pretty often. That could be something like Foo Fighters or Beethoven's 9th Symphony or anything I could at least nod along to for a bit while I collect myself before pumping out a few more sentences.
I think that especially if you aren't super excited about what you're writing, you may need more exciting music to generate the energy to get through it more quickly.