It takes us about 25 minutes to regain our focus once it’s lost. Working in an office environment or at home, distractions can throw us off track. So it makes sense to minimize outside interference as much as possible.

One good way to do that is to use headphones and listen to music. The headphones serve two purposes: (i) they cancel out noise; and (ii) they signal the people around you that you can’t hear them.

I don’t recommend listening to music with lyrics in them since they WILL cause your brain to process some of the words. Listening to background music is the best way to proceed.

Now, what kind of music should you listen to?

There are four science-backed playlists that scientists recommend that I’ve put them together below:

1. Instrumental Songs

The staff at Fast Company put together this playlist as a part of an experiment they ran. It has varying tempos and genres which makes it perfect for getting into rhythm.

 

2. Classical Music

This one’s borrowed from Spotify user Carly Briana. Her list is even recommended by the folks at HubSpot.

 

3.  Nature Sounds

You’re in luck if you like natural ambient sounds because YouTube has every type of sound imaginable already uploaded there.

Here’s one that’s NINE HOURS long!

 

4. Ambient Sounds

If you simply want to recreate an ambiance like working in a cafe, head on over to Noisli. The feature is so neat that you won’t be disappointed.

 

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