Ask HN: what do you listen to when you want to be productive? - fmela
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aaronem
Bach, preferably short pieces I know well; failing that, Mozart, likewise.
Either can serve as a pleasant diversion for those parts of my mind which get
bored and need something to occupy them while I'm hacking, without requiring
anything in particular from the parts of my mind which are focused on my code.
(I'm not doing either composer any favors from an artistic perspective, I
realize, but it's not as though I don't enjoy their work for its own sake as
well.)

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jlengrand
Depends on what productive means. For pure coding, when I want to create a
bubble around me I usually listen to trance.

I had a playlist of more than 200 hundred remixes of satisfaction back in the
days. Good way to code for 5 hours without putting your eyes off the screen.

When I need to think / design, it is usually some chill out (like enigma).

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mrjatx
When I'm coding I either use; www.getworkdonemusic.com or www.mynoise.net. GWD
is just a soundcloud interface with some fast vocal-free techno beats, so it
pumps me up while not interrupting my focus. I get frustrated with it because
it breaks a LOT. I'd say ever 5 or 6 songs it will finish playing a song and
fail to load the next which is absolutely attention killing when you're in the
middle of a creative rush.

Mynoise.net on the other hand is absolutely incredible but it's ambient
sounds. The guy who runs it is a sound engineer and he updates the site
frequently with new sounds. It's seriously great. Ive donated multiple times.
He now has an iPhone app as well.

I absolutely love his binaural beats, airplane cabin, sail boat noise
machines.

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notduncansmith
I have a playlist called Tasteless Rap on Spotify that helps me focus. Solid
beats, lyrics that are pretty easy to memorize (and thus not get too caught up
in), and fun. I've got it arranged into a pretty good ebb and flow of energy,
so I don't get worn out halfway through. I also second @gadders' birdsong
comment: it's quite lovely, especially with coffee/tea. Which reminds me,
Coffitivity has been excellent for tuning out the distractions of our open
plan office (it's not fully open, but the room I'm in has 4 other people with
no blockage of sound or sight lines and is quite busy).

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noname123
BBC World Service/CBC Radio One Ottawa. The Commonwealth news media usually
are more int'l than US media and focuses more on disasters such as raping,
pillaging and military conflicts that's happening.

Gives me both a sense of schadenfreude about how I won the birth lottery to be
born in the US; and also a sense of urgency to make use of my time more wisely
vs. posting links on someone's wall when kids from schools are kidnapped for
marriage.

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orky56
Here's a great blog post on the 5 genres of music for productivity:
[http://ryanio.com/2014/music-to-get-work-done/](http://ryanio.com/2014/music-
to-get-work-done/) & here's the HN discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7576117](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7576117)

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edavis
John Frusciante & Josh Klinghoffer - Sphere
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzLo4eHlpUI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzLo4eHlpUI)).
The transition at 4:08 gets me every time.

I also find listening to songs on repeat helps. I get into the "zone" faster
when I'm not hearing a new beat every 3-5 minutes.

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davidddavidson
I have a playlist of music I enjoy listening to when coding and/or working on
the computer -
[http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Programming+Music/60387099](http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Programming+Music/60387099)
. I just set it on shuffle and leave it going in the background.

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nbrempel
[http://grimblee.bandcamp.com/](http://grimblee.bandcamp.com/)

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mattwritescode
If I am in the office at work and I need to get things done I have some over
ear headphones which are really good at noise cancelling.

I will just sit there with them on listing to nothing. Its nice as it means
people will not come over and bother me; also I do not hear others working.

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gadders
Birdsong, so that when I'm stuck in a corporate griefhole I can imagine I am
in a garden somewhere.

Also:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22298779](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22298779)

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hashtag
A few others have said it but I'll add another +1 to nothing.

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alaroldai
Usually prog rock/metal. Dream Theater works well.

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ja27
Movie soundtracks. Right now it's mostly the Daft Punk Tron soundtracks
(original and remix), but also the Lord of the Rings.

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dblarons
Oddly enough, I find movie soundtracks to be the single most distracting music
selections during work. I constantly find myself zoning out and thinking about
movie scenes. For me, a soundtrack carries a heavy emotional weight similar to
watching the movie itself. In the case of LoTR, I get this crazy nostalgic
feeling and have a strong desire to watch LoTR again. Great movies.

I find that albums I have listened to more than 15 or 20 times help me focus
the most during work or study. New albums and hip-hop both tend to distract
me.

Edit: clarity

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BorisMelnik
nothing: anytime anything is on in the background I find it to be completely
distracting. This includes classical / jazz and any of the obvious non-
offensive niches.

I work in an office of 8 people. 5 listen to music, 3 of us prefer silence.

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arisAlexis
soma.fm groove salad channel. nothing like it. also listening to it stoned

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jqm
nothing

