27 September
Especially when working, listening to the same song over and over again gets me in "the zone". I accidentally discovered this some time back, and I am not the only one to come to this realisation. There have been a few studies on why this happens.
Turns out, it is because with repetition, our mind is accustomed to anticipating what comes next, and tunes itself into it, cutting away out mental distractions we may have.
I have a two part theory on why this works for me-
1. It acts as a filter for external distractions. I always wear headphones when I'm working, and turn the volume up just enough that the song I'm playing shadows the other sounds. This is well withing permissible limits. As long as there isn't a heavy duty construction going on outside the window, this blocks out minor sounds, giving me a sense of being within my own sanctuary.
2. It sets up a working rhythm. I have experimented with different genres of music and I have found that item song works best for me. They usually have an even, fast paced rhythm, prominent beats and repetitive, peppy music.
I sometimes also listen to jazz (usually John Coltrane's Blue Train) or death metal, but i have to been in a certain mood to get them to "work" for me. Jazz is too classy, and death metal is too fast. With item songs, I am in the mood by the second or third repeat.
Lucky Ali works best when it's sunny outside.
Even with item songs, I have to listen to those whose language I am not too familiar with- usually Hindi or Tamil. I can just about make out the lyrics, but don't have to spend too much cerebral matter in understanding those words. With Kannada, or English, my mind automatically invests itself more into the song, resulting in substandard quality.
Especially when working, listening to the same song over and over again gets me in "the zone". I accidentally discovered this some time back, and I am not the only one to come to this realisation. There have been a few studies on why this happens.
Turns out, it is because with repetition, our mind is accustomed to anticipating what comes next, and tunes itself into it, cutting away out mental distractions we may have.
I have a two part theory on why this works for me-
1. It acts as a filter for external distractions. I always wear headphones when I'm working, and turn the volume up just enough that the song I'm playing shadows the other sounds. This is well withing permissible limits. As long as there isn't a heavy duty construction going on outside the window, this blocks out minor sounds, giving me a sense of being within my own sanctuary.
2. It sets up a working rhythm. I have experimented with different genres of music and I have found that item song works best for me. They usually have an even, fast paced rhythm, prominent beats and repetitive, peppy music.
I sometimes also listen to jazz (usually John Coltrane's Blue Train) or death metal, but i have to been in a certain mood to get them to "work" for me. Jazz is too classy, and death metal is too fast. With item songs, I am in the mood by the second or third repeat.
Lucky Ali works best when it's sunny outside.
Even with item songs, I have to listen to those whose language I am not too familiar with- usually Hindi or Tamil. I can just about make out the lyrics, but don't have to spend too much cerebral matter in understanding those words. With Kannada, or English, my mind automatically invests itself more into the song, resulting in substandard quality.
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