The history of headphones

It’s best to listen to music you are familiar with if you need intense focus for a project. 

New music is surprising; since you don’t know what to expect, you are inclined to listen closely to see what comes next.

For activities that don’t require concentration, music with lyrics has some benefits. But with immersive tasks, lyrics are especially destructive to our focus.

Trying to engage in language-related tasks ( e.g. writing ) while listening to lyrics would be akin to holding a conversation while another person talks over you… while also strumming a guitar.

1. We say yes to things we find difficult to squeeze in our schedule. The key is to commit to less, and be committed to the task we say yes to.
2. We move around, fiddling with one task or the other, habitually keeping ourselves busy, because we aren’t familiar with anything but being busy. This mental habit of rushing from one thing to the next is to be clamped.
3. We don’t have a connection between the task at hand and anything meaningful, and just keep working like a zombie, due to deadlines, and commitments. We need to give meaning and devotion to the task we are doing and connect to it.
4. We work non-stop due to a fear that if we stop working we will lose our job or income. We believe we may lose our respect in society. Focusing on high-impact tasks is key here.
5. We have a tendency to procrastinate over the daunting tasks and keep ourselves busy on other tasks, avoiding the important ones that seem difficult.

We need to find a way where we are:

• Getting stuff done.
• Focused, calm and relaxed.
• Fully present and not rushing anything.
• Having a sense of purpose and meaning in our work.
• Completing important tasks even if they look daunting.