It’s a slow day at work and you have a project to finish but somehow everything else seems more interesting than focusing on the work at the moment.
Since you’ve already made your third cup of coffee, had a walk around the office (or home), and scrolled through social media, it’s time to put the stop to procrastination and get your work done.
And, what’s better for getting laser focused than listening to a great playlist.
To help us come up with 10 best playlists to help you focus, we turned to The Playlist Miner tool. This tool aggregates the top tracks from the most popular public playlists on Spotify that match your search criteria.
So let’s dive into the playlists!
1. Best focus music for writing
Writing requires great focus and persistence to get from a blank paper to a good piece of writing. You need to enter that creative flow and the words start pouring in by themself. But every once in a while you’ll get stuck, staring at the wall waiting for something to spark your creativity.
Film and TV scores are often great for helping you focus on your writing. Tracks like On The Nature of Daylight by Max Richter or The Night King by Ramin Djawadi create a beautiful wall of noise that helps you escape your surroundings and focus on your writing
Check out this Focus on Writing playlist on Spotify and let its mysterious, moody, and comforting sounds help you get your wheels turning.
2. Best focus music for illustration
Sometimes all you need is a little Indie and some soul to get your creative juices flowing. And though it may sound like superstition, it’s actually a science-backed fact. No, not the part about indie music.
But overall, research shows that listening to music in the workplace improves productivity and stimulates people to have better ideas.
By analyzing Spotify playlist data, we found that illustrators love a bit of everything – from Frank Ocean to Sex Pistols. So, give yourself space to completely focus on your illustrations, and get your creative pistons firing with the one and only Sex Pistols.
So if you’re about to create some illustrations and want to make them outstanding, go ahead and check out this awesome Focus on Illustration playlist.
3. Best focus music for studying
When it comes to studying, we’ve all been there. Spending days, if not weeks, focusing on preparing for an exam gets tiresome and draining. And though some claim they need perfect silence to absorb new knowledge, others recognize the power of good music to improve their productivity.
When it comes to focus music, budding students seem to enjoy soft, slow, and classical tunes that create a comforting wall of noise – like Still With You by Smyang Piano.
This Focus on Studying playlist, is sure to put you in a good mood and help you focus, all at the same time.
4. Best focus music for creativity
Being creative is not always a given and can’t always be turned on as a switch. Whether you’re working on a new design or figuring out a new marketing campaign for a brand, the chances are you’ll reach at least a small creative block at one point or another.
According to The Playlist Miner, the winning combination for creativity are alternative indie tracks like New Flash by Current Joys, together with classical tunes like Portrait by Emiliano Toso.
Some creatives also like to spice it all up with some fiery pop songs from The Weekend.
If you don’t already have your secret recipe for dealing with such situations, here’s a great Focus on Creativity playlist to get your creative juices flowing.
5. Best focus music for marketing
Are you launching a new campaign or throwing an event for the new brand redesign? Or maybe figuring out the right messaging to use on your new product pages?
Marketing is a dynamic and noisy field where you need complete focus while often concentrating on three things at the same time. And, sometimes what you need is a little kick to keep you motivated and productive.
Spotify shows that marketers are all about their pop anthems, with big names like Bruno Mars, Harry Styles, Elton John, and Dua Lipa. But there’s also a good disco techno twist in there too!
Enjoy the Focus on Marketing playlist and have some of the biggest names from the music industry guiding you through the day.
6. Best focus music for video editing
If something takes focus and dedication, without going through too many meltdowns, that’s video editing. The work that goes into successfully finishing a video editing project is tedious, time-consuming, and creative at the same time.
When they need a little help getting in the zone, video editors seem to enjoy some bouncy vibes from artists like Ooyy. A few calming acoustic tunes like The Paper Kites make the list too – maybe for those moments when Adobe Premiere crashes.
In the Focus on Video Editing playlist you can find music for every part of the video editing process and enjoy your project from start to finish.
7. Best focus music for planning
Planning is a big part of everyone’s job. And while some enjoy it, others can find it pretty draining. But a good playlist can quickly put you at ease and even help you find planning soothing and a great time to rewire.
Songs like Marry me by Train and Young by Vacations are just some of many tracks that planners seem to love.
So if you’re looking to make your budgeting and strategy sessions a little more enjoyable, make sure to check out this vibrant Focus on Planning playlist.
8. Best focus music for sales
Sales are fast, upbeat, and full of adrenaline. For most of your day, you’re talking to people with a big bright smile on your face and trying your hardest to persuade them to believe in the same vision as you do in whatever you’re selling.
But for times when you wake up feeling like you could use a slow morning to yourself, you need a little something to get you up on your feet and ready for your next sales call.
And who’s better to up your mood than bold and upbeat artists like Pharell Williams, Guns N’ Roses, and the Rocket Man himself, Elton John?
So, make sure you check out the full Focus on Sales playlist crafted by The Playlist Miner, and get yourself in the winning mode within minutes.
9. Best focus music for designing
You’ve got a deadline for your prototype designs for the end of the week, and every time you start sketching it feels like you’re better at erasing stuff than producing them. But as the middle of the week approaches you’re desperately looking for something to get you to kickstart your designs.
According to Spotify playlist data, it’s time to turn up the unique sounds from Billie Eilish with dark but brilliant tracks like bury a friend. Or turn to some more positive melodies from Tame Impala with songs like The Less I Know The Better.
To stay focused, in rhythm, and isolate yourself from background noise, check out this Focus on Designing playlist. You’ll be surprised by how fast you’ll turn those uninspired, half-erased sketches into great prototypes.
10. Best focus music for coding
Developers are known to be in their own world and constantly having their headsets on to listen to music or podcasts while coding. But every once in a while the source of great music drains and you’re stuck with your old playlists playing on repeat.
And, it looks like you need to listen to something that resembles music from games or applications to get you in the zone and the rhythm of fast and accurate coding. Which is why The Playlist Miner suggests listening to tracks like Concept 1 from Kodomo or Epoch from Tycho.
You can find around a hundred more of such great tunes in the Focus on Coding playlist.
What music helps you focus
Though there’s a common belief that only classical music helps you focus, there are more types of music helping you do just that.
Here are three other types of music that help you focus:
- Nature sounds
- Calming music
- Your favorite music
Nature music
Imagine the sound of breaking through the forest, the leaves crunching against your feet and the snow just started drizzling. Sounds quite soothing, right?
Well, you’re not the only one who thinks so. Recent research from PNAS found that people who were listening to sounds like flowing water, birds chirping, and other sounds from nature reported lower stress levels which can improve focus and have other health benefits, like decreasing pain.
If you’re looking for some high-quality tracks that last more than a few minutes (I’m looking at you, Spotify), check out Earth.fm! Their nature playlists are recorded in different habitats around the world, transporting you from your desk to Peru, Nepal, and everywhere in between.
Calming music
For some researchers, it’s not about the type of music but its tempo that dictates the level of focus.
More specifically, a cognitive behavioral therapist working with Spotify found that listening to music that’s in the 50 to 80–beat range puts the brain into an alpha state. Or in other words – a state of complete focus.
Your favorite music
At the end of the day, it’s important to listen to the music that you love. Some people enjoy coding with a heavy-metal album in the background and it gets them going. For others, house music will do.
Research even found that participants who listened to music they enjoyed completed their tasks faster and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t. All that was because music helped them feel better and improved their mood.
Why does music help me focus
Different research has proven that music has positive effects on your productivity. But how is that so?
A recent study from PNAS found that music increases your levels of dopamine which is in connection with hedonism and motivation. So, despite music not being essential to our existence, this explains a lot about why we enjoy a good concert so much and can spend days on Spotify.
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, we all love to have music as the background of our lives. Whether working or relaxing, it makes our days more productive, happier, and cheerful.
And with these 10 playlists, you can make sure to improve your results at work and your mood, regardless of the type of work you do.
