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Comment by dorkwood | Hacker News Reader

One weird trick I use is to listen to a particular kind of music. The genre isn't important. Neither is the content. What's important is that I've listened to that same music while experiencing a flow state in the past.

Just as music attached to a time and place can make us remember how we felt back then, music attached to memories of deep work can make us feel more focused. I don't have any sources to back this up. It's just my personal experience.

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Agreed. Often times it's easier for me when the music doesn't have lyrics (although if I've listened to it enough times, even that stops mattering).

Lately my flow music is Xerrox, Vol. 4 by alva noto[1].

[1] https://album.link/s/5czmSKJDla5GcXs6IMOLAc

Can't recommend CodeRadio[0] enough for this purpose.

0: https://coderadio.freecodecamp.org/

This resonates very much with me - I've been carrying around a playlist I discovered on 8tracks ("Homework at Hogwarts") for years now that I play when I need to focus and get something done.

I noticed the same thing. It has to be music without lyrics in my case, and I built up a special playlist just for work. In case anyone is interested. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5w6Kxs4XOrYJ633klaxIfQ

I did a course where they played the same playlist before the next part of the course after the break.

The last two songs were:

Danger zone

We will rock you

Chosen for their relative lengths!

You know when danger zone is on there is one song left, it gives about 4 minutes for everyone to kinda get ready, finish coffees etc.

Then we will rock you is short so once everyone is kinda ready it’s not long before the lesson starts.

I listen to SomaFM's Drone Zone channel on noise-cancelling headphones when I program. It broadcasts "drone" music – no lyrics, very little rhythm, melody or harmony – the music concentrates mainly on sound texture. And of course, no ads. Can't recommend it enough.

Ozric Tentacles for me. With the exception of two songs that I can think of in their 30-album catalog, there are no vocalizations. Just trippy psychedelic space rock. It may not work for everyone, but it puts me in the zone and I can code without lyrical distraction.

same! I'll usually listen to chillhop tracks and it helps, and usually I'll just shuffle the same songs. And they can't be really good songs or that'll distract me.

Sometimes I'll also listen to Russian songs, weirdly that does it for me (I don't speak Russian)

did my PhD from A to Z listening to the same songza, then google play music, now youtube music station. I still listen to it while working.

I cannot relate more to what has been said above.

Music with lyrics takes me out of the zone so for me it has to be instrumental only.

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