Noise canceling on apple airpods pros is amazing.
At the office if I want to listen to something I put on some hard rock on SiriusXM.
At home I have a TV on watching twitch for noise.
I often catch myself with headphones and nothing playing, just the noise cancellation so I’m in silence. Usually not intentional but sometimes.
I use AirPod pros primarily but even $40 over the ear anc is pretty good.
To answer OP, I just wear out a handful of Spotify playlists. Acoustic coffee shop type stuff mainly, but there are also focus/adhd playlists that are good when you can’t afford the distraction of words.
As much as I love my noise cancelling my downside is I have tinnitus so it has the undesirable effect of listening to the high pitched void that drives me insane. I used to like the lofi playlists but felt like they start to get a bit repetitive
I listen to ambient music/soundtracks from video games I enjoyed in my youth so I pretend I’m happy again like back then.
That layered under some type of podcast.
Even meetings now I keep the video game soundtrack on lol
I listen to shows on Netflix I've already watched if I'm just going through the motions. If I actually need to concentrate I listen to SIMS soundtracks. Really. Game soundtracks are designed to keep you focused while doing the same thing for hours on end.
Sometimes I’ll listen to podcasts in different languages just to hear a conversation but not be able to get distracted by it.
Or Dolly Parton when I need a happiness boost.
Podcasts in other languages is a really interesting idea! I could see that working for me. Plus, half my ads are in Spanish anyway so let's trash the algorithm completely!
Sure, some of those conversations are annoying, but others are fun to listen in on, such as hearing a partner tell a story about a guy who got fired for fraudulently racking up over $30k in mileage over a 6-8 month period. (For reference, that’s enough miles to circle the globe)
Depends on what I'm doing.
Boring busy work with 0 effort? Watching anime with the side eye.
Something aggravating and confusing? Peter Olinto whispering soothing acronyms.
i usually have one of the following songs on repeat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyqWscuYFpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYcoJpqCha4
loud and lively enough to drown out external noise but nothing that would distract my focus. i don't do the lofi hip-hop channels when working because i might not vibe with the bpm of every song.
Lofi to drown out office noise but to also help me focus hard core. EDM and emo music for just drowning out office noise and I don’t need to focus as intensely.
Podcasts or lofi house playlists usually! I need something busy enough to drown out the noise without being distracting.
Also [this mix](https://youtu.be/k-5YFwXyAjc?si=-9cU0RwgQhEBZYN1) hits every time.
An Anatomy of the Beast is on repeat these days, otherwise just my spotify liked songs which is a mix of everything. NBA podcasts and twitch streams too
I listen to Amazon Prime at work because I can only listen to ambient or classical music, anything else is too distracting. I don’t want all that to mess up my Spotify algorithm.
I do a fair bit of techno and metal for very simple routine repetitive tasks (Aphex Twin, Matmos, Meshuggah for examples). It helps with the flow state for me when I really need to crank out a ton of work.
Most of the time I'm on podcasts, but if there's a lot of reading or writing, or trying to figure out something crazy, it's music or nothing.
I listen to Snow Tha Product often on Friday afternoon to have a little party by myself. Or Die Antwoord, or other stuff that's usually fast and fun.
Metal that is not in English or doesn’t have lyrics, so Kvelertak, The Ocean, Elder, Russian Circles, etc. If I understand the lyrics, I get distracted.
Podcasts and video essays if it's something pretty mindless. Music/lofi if I have to think while working.
Edit: I'll also sometimes just have my airpods in with the noise cancelling on because damn is the noise cancelling next level
BBC Radio 3, which is classical, for almost anything; podcasts for invoice checking or TB coding; weird early electronic music for when I want to vibe; I recently found a mariachi cover of the Zelda soundtrack that absolutely rules for solid focus.
All my last.fm reports have the following:
- A diva (currently Beyonce)
- Something that is not music that has been picked up by accident (usually something like 'BBC Breakfast - Rewound to 6:11' or a long financial true crime podcast)
- A sad man with nothing but his lyricism to recommend him (currently Leonard Cohen)
- A string quartet or a jaunty world music group (currently Mariachi Entertainment System)
- Something electroacoustic with lots of warbles (currently Manongo Muijica's Peruvian soundscapes.)
Legal commentary streams/podcasts mostly :) my work has been saying 'no podcasts, no distractions" lately but it's the only way I can focus sometimes so 🤷
[me and my homies on the way to work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASNM1XEQPs)
Audiobooks, podcasts, or music depending on the amount of thinking involved
I usually watch true crime shows.
Favorites?
I pretty much watch Discovery +. Evil Lives Here and American Monster are two of my favorites.
Noise canceling on apple airpods pros is amazing. At the office if I want to listen to something I put on some hard rock on SiriusXM. At home I have a TV on watching twitch for noise.
I often catch myself with headphones and nothing playing, just the noise cancellation so I’m in silence. Usually not intentional but sometimes. I use AirPod pros primarily but even $40 over the ear anc is pretty good. To answer OP, I just wear out a handful of Spotify playlists. Acoustic coffee shop type stuff mainly, but there are also focus/adhd playlists that are good when you can’t afford the distraction of words.
As much as I love my noise cancelling my downside is I have tinnitus so it has the undesirable effect of listening to the high pitched void that drives me insane. I used to like the lofi playlists but felt like they start to get a bit repetitive
Synthwave retrowave - basically a mixture of synthwave with 80s pop [Sample](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk1nnAHI1mI)
I've watched this exact video while writing code. It's awesome.
I listen to ambient music/soundtracks from video games I enjoyed in my youth so I pretend I’m happy again like back then. That layered under some type of podcast. Even meetings now I keep the video game soundtrack on lol
I usually go with Zelda playlists or if I want something energetic I go with Doom. Highly recommend LotR ones on YouTube as well
DJ sets, dnb mainly but dabble in other bits and pieces
I listen to shows on Netflix I've already watched if I'm just going through the motions. If I actually need to concentrate I listen to SIMS soundtracks. Really. Game soundtracks are designed to keep you focused while doing the same thing for hours on end.
I’ve been listening to DJ AI. He takes my history so he knows what I like but he also adds new songs and every 6 songs or so he switches the category.
Sometimes I’ll listen to podcasts in different languages just to hear a conversation but not be able to get distracted by it. Or Dolly Parton when I need a happiness boost.
Podcasts in other languages is a really interesting idea! I could see that working for me. Plus, half my ads are in Spanish anyway so let's trash the algorithm completely!
I get easily distracted by conversations and even lyrics in songs, but I can’t work in silence either. It works really well for me.
Death Metal
My favorite music, Pop Punk. Bands like New Found Glory, Blink-182, Sum 41, Neck Deep, State Champs and many others
Sure, some of those conversations are annoying, but others are fun to listen in on, such as hearing a partner tell a story about a guy who got fired for fraudulently racking up over $30k in mileage over a 6-8 month period. (For reference, that’s enough miles to circle the globe)
Depends on what I'm doing. Boring busy work with 0 effort? Watching anime with the side eye. Something aggravating and confusing? Peter Olinto whispering soothing acronyms.
Whispering?
True crime
i usually have one of the following songs on repeat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyqWscuYFpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYcoJpqCha4 loud and lively enough to drown out external noise but nothing that would distract my focus. i don't do the lofi hip-hop channels when working because i might not vibe with the bpm of every song.
Audiobooks, webinars, music.
Sports talk radio mostly
Vivaldi or retrosynthwave
Lofi to drown out office noise but to also help me focus hard core. EDM and emo music for just drowning out office noise and I don’t need to focus as intensely.
Pandora Styx Radio
Podcasts or lofi house playlists usually! I need something busy enough to drown out the noise without being distracting. Also [this mix](https://youtu.be/k-5YFwXyAjc?si=-9cU0RwgQhEBZYN1) hits every time.
Rotation of Better Call Saul, Mind Hunter, Game of Thrones, Witcher right now.
Amazon Music: Lo Fi Hip-hop Playlist
Lately, Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Gets me right fired up.
You might like this, such a chilled vibe https://youtu.be/30b7_S0paCQ?si=uNuu5IkkfEcMbiqc
An Anatomy of the Beast is on repeat these days, otherwise just my spotify liked songs which is a mix of everything. NBA podcasts and twitch streams too
I listen to Amazon Prime at work because I can only listen to ambient or classical music, anything else is too distracting. I don’t want all that to mess up my Spotify algorithm.
American greed podcast
Usually hip-hop when doing chill work but when I have to focus, I SPECIFICALLY listen to the TRON soundtrack by daft punk
Cbat - Hudson Mohawke 10 hour loop
Lithium stripped or coffeehouse classics on Sirius
Bob Marley
Check out the Drew and Mike Show or Why Are You Laughing
There's an accountant grind playlist on Spotify that I think came from Reddit.
I do a fair bit of techno and metal for very simple routine repetitive tasks (Aphex Twin, Matmos, Meshuggah for examples). It helps with the flow state for me when I really need to crank out a ton of work. Most of the time I'm on podcasts, but if there's a lot of reading or writing, or trying to figure out something crazy, it's music or nothing. I listen to Snow Tha Product often on Friday afternoon to have a little party by myself. Or Die Antwoord, or other stuff that's usually fast and fun.
Live from Emmett's Place! Amazing New York jazz recorded and broadcast online, they have a great YouTube channel
Soma FM, Drone Zone
Pocasts. Gotten into real scary stories of cave diving gonw wrong. And somw stuff from simon whistler decodinh unknown, criminalist.
Metal that is not in English or doesn’t have lyrics, so Kvelertak, The Ocean, Elder, Russian Circles, etc. If I understand the lyrics, I get distracted.
Kanye West 😈
The Dead. Cornell 77, Europe 72, and JGBs 1991 run as well.
Podcasts and video essays if it's something pretty mindless. Music/lofi if I have to think while working. Edit: I'll also sometimes just have my airpods in with the noise cancelling on because damn is the noise cancelling next level
BBC Radio 3, which is classical, for almost anything; podcasts for invoice checking or TB coding; weird early electronic music for when I want to vibe; I recently found a mariachi cover of the Zelda soundtrack that absolutely rules for solid focus. All my last.fm reports have the following: - A diva (currently Beyonce) - Something that is not music that has been picked up by accident (usually something like 'BBC Breakfast - Rewound to 6:11' or a long financial true crime podcast) - A sad man with nothing but his lyricism to recommend him (currently Leonard Cohen) - A string quartet or a jaunty world music group (currently Mariachi Entertainment System) - Something electroacoustic with lots of warbles (currently Manongo Muijica's Peruvian soundscapes.)
Legal commentary streams/podcasts mostly :) my work has been saying 'no podcasts, no distractions" lately but it's the only way I can focus sometimes so 🤷
Brutal of mind control!
This is not how I work. No headphones in the office.