Does an iPod Help You Concentrate? (And Other Questions About Attention) | Hacker News Reader

Does an iPod Help You Concentrate? (And Other Questions About Attention)

tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com

12 pointsrobg11 comments

An iPod doesn't help me concentrate, but sometimes music does. Techno sometimes helps me too, but it has to be techno I've heard before. New stimuli will distract me.

Interestingly, a walk around the block can do wonders for my concentration too. This fails horribly if something really catches my eye though. Girls are bad like that :)

  An iPod doesn't help me concentrate, but sometimes music does.

I've noticed lately that listening to music with headphones helps me focus more than listening to it through speakers. I'm assuming this is because the headphones make the music the only thing I hear, where as with speakers the music is just another thing I hear.

  (...) but it has to be techno I've heard before (...)

Definitely, you want the music to set the rhythm for what you're doing but not to take center stage. I don't listen to techno, but I find instrumental funk is great for this (Beastie Boys' "The In Sound from Way Out" and Forbidden Ensemble's "Porno Soundtracks" are my favorites, not that anyone asked).

    I've noticed lately that listening to music with headphones helps me focus more than listening to it through speakers. I'm assuming this is because the headphones make the music the only thing I hear, where as with speakers the music is just another thing I hear.

I couldn't agree more! My hypothesis is that it sort of seals me off in my own little world.

Exactly what I was going to write! :P I find it really easy to tune out to music I've heard before, But it has to be to a good rhythm if there is too much irregularity I'll get put off

The days I forget my iPod are horrible, unproductive days.

I think that has to do with my noisyish work environment more than anything, since I can code at home with or without music. Though it may also be related to the way working at work works (sit at your desk and produce stuff for the next 9 hours)...

But as far as music goes, I'll listen to anything I like and know. Anything new is distracting until I've heard it a few times, but that's about it.

Music with lyrics = distraction. Instrumental movie soundtracks work for me.

Same for me. I can handle some Pink Floyd and other really familiar music, but mostly it's Apocalyptica (metal on chellos) or soundtracks. I recently started listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, but the track where the orcs are slaving away under Isengard is depressing to work to.

iPods destroy my productivity because all I have on them are audiobooks and NPR podcasts. It's very hard to listen to a good episode of This American Life and get anything done.

I can't even concentrate with Hacker News on my RSS feed... I don't know how I could cope with an iPod!

I find it difficult to code without some sort of music playing in my ears, normally because it helps block out any distractions around me.

For the past few months I've been listening to SomaFM ( http://soma.fm/ ) almost non-stop. It's listener supported commercial free radio so there's no annoying ads to interrupt you, just a constant stream of the genre of your choice. Works for me anyway!

I never go anywhere without my iPod and my Mindfold http://www.mindfold.com/, one to shut out sound and one to shut out light.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com