Music Makes Repetitive Tasks Enjoyable

There’s scientific reasoning as to listening to music improve efficiency, creativity, and how it can get the creative juices flowing. A lot of people can argue that having music playing while trying to complete any task can be a huge distraction. Which is ironic considering how it was recommended to not be listening to any music when trying to work. Think about it. Do you remember being in school and wanting to listen to earbuds during an assignment, but weren’t allowed to? According to BBC News, researchers said that dopamine gets released into our brains in response to music. Levels of dopamine were found to be up to 9% higher when people were listening to music they enjoyed while wanting to be productive. Dopamine is heavily associated with the feeling of being in love. Being in love equals happiness and happiness equals efficiency and creativity!  

Photo: medium.com

An article that I found on medium.com provides examples of how it affected certain studies when music was being played in the background.  “In 1972, a study published in Applied Ergonomics suggested that people doing repetitive tasks worked more efficiently when background music was played.” And “A 1999 study in the Journal of Neuroscience and behavioral physiology showed that playing classical or rock music allowed study participants to identify numbers more quickly and accurately.” These are just brief examples of how music affects productivity, but now we can see how it is beneficial. The music is providing a sense of relief from boring work. When we engage ourselves with music, it makes us feel less alone and that anything can be achieved.  

So, what kind of music helps? Does it matter what kind we’re listening to? The answer to both questions is yes. Depending on what type of task you’re trying to get done, certain genres will help achieve just about anything. 

Familiarity is best for focus. 

You want to listen to songs that you already know, your mind will be distracted if you’re listening to a song that you’ve never heard before. Your brain will recognize that it's foreign and you probably won’t get any work done. When it comes to certain genres, each one can do something different to the mind.  

Classical music helps concentration a lot when trying to study. One study shows how much of an impact Baroque tunes have on productivity. The music is fresh and puts ease to the mind. Here’s an example of what most people listen to when they study: 

Electronic music and ambient music represent repetitive sounds, this helps but it doesn’t disrupt our focus. The melodies build on each other and help us to focus on one goal and one goal only. This is the reason why they have this type of music in the background of many video games. We get to enjoy ourselves while still wanting to complete the mission at hand. Whatever that may be. 
But what about the people who can't find the ability to concentrate when there is music playing? 
The Cardiff study presents a more realistic scenario. It states that when a person is hearing music at the same time as doing the expected task, the results won't be good. The beat of the music is not the distracting part, it's the lyrics. Just like a conversation, your attention is moved to listening to the words, in the case of songs, it's lyrics. Music can prove itself to be beneficial to improving work productivity, just under the right circumstances; in the case of repetitive tasks, it proves itself quite the boost. However, mentally demanding tasks require one's full attention and that means no music whatsoever. 

So, why does this work for most people and for others, it doesn't? It very well may be something that is based on taste and personal preference. Regardless, positive effects of productivity from music have been found and it may certainly be worth trying it out.

Music without consent is most likely to cause more negative effects than positive. In other words, if it's present; this means the person who's listening is wanting to enhance their performance. The music was purposeful.