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Does listening to music improve productivity
Michael Seddon
There are many people who like to listen to music while they
work and I am certainly one of them. I find it helps me focus
more on the task at hand. Of course I can imagine that there are
people who listen to music because it helps them NOT to focus on
their job.
Whilst there may be many reasons for wishing to listen to music
in the workplace, can it really improve your productivity?
We know that music can alter your mood. Films have been using
musical scores for years to create the right mood for a scene.
At times you hardly notice the music at all but you are very
receptive to the mood being conveyed. So can we use music to put
us in a "productive" mood?
Research seems to support such a claim. For example, a trial
where 75 out of 256 workers at a large retail company were
issued with personal stereos to wear at work for four weeks
showed a 10% increase in productivity for the headphone wearers.
Other similar research conducted by researchers at the
University of Illinois found a 6.3% increase when compared with
the no music control group.
So if we accept that music does increase productivity, does it
matter what types of music we listen to? Does all music have the
same effect or are certain types better in certain circumstances?
If your goal is to increase your concentration then music which
has a constant, easy beat and light melodies are recommended.
These are said to be good for those trying to study as they help
you pace your reading to aid focus and memorising. Baroque music
is reported as an excellent example, especially the works of
Vivaldi, Bach and Handel.
If you are aiming to be more productive through being more
relaxed, then you may be interested to learn that research has
shown that music with an upbeat rhythm can reduce stress hormone
levels by as much as 41%.
Some of the most publicised studies into whether listening to
music increases productivity have centred on what has been
termed the "Mozart effect". The term got its name after a study
showed that college students had performed better solving
mathematical problems when listening to classical music. The
effect of listening to Mozart does not appear to be limited to
humans either. Apparently cows will produce more milk if Mozart
is played.
About the author:
Mike Seddon an experienced IT professional with many years
experience in Program Management. He is a founding member of
Kutchka Limited which specialises in providing software to help
people get the most out of Microsoft Word. Find out more at
http://www.kutchka.com/
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