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Drowning Out the Background

October 31, 2008
posted by Lauren | View Comments

headphones.jpgI have officially fallen victim to the latest Sixthman epidemic…headphone-itis.  Until we move into our new office, we’re all crammed into every bit of open space, and it’s not unusual to see three or four desks in each office.  With that comes more noise and opportunity for distraction, so most of us have started wearing headphones as an attempt to drown out the background noise and try to stay on task.

The other day, I put together my “Working, Working” playlist that I listen to on a loop almost all day.  I started the list with all of my favorite songs, but found myself skipping to the slowest, more introspective, meaningful songs.  So then I made a list of slower, more personally significant songs, and became instantly more efficient.  It was great!  Now my social life at Sixthman has diminished, since we’re all in headphones, but I get more work done!  I’m sure Andy would be pleased to hear this new breakthrough.

Here’s a little sample of what’s on my list.  If anyone has idea of new songs to add, please let me know!

Brandi Carlile – Happy, Have You Ever, Fall Apart Again
Emerson Hart – Flyin’
Feist – 1234, We’re All in the Dance
Gabe Dixon Band – All Will Be Well
John Mayer – The Heart of Life, Free Fallin’, Dreaming with a Broken Heart
Jump, Little Children – Mexico, Requiem
Matt Wertz – 5:19, Honest Man
The Weepies – Hideaway, All That I Want, Gotta Have You

What do you listen to at work?

-Lauren

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 6:30 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://www.sixthman.net Mike

    Usually the melody of a Death Metal riff helps me concentrate.. something along the lines of Job For A Cowboy.

  • http://www.sixthman.net Steve

    Good call Lo. What you listen to is crucial to productivity. I know barb likes to listen to Metal when she’s working.

    I, on the other hand, go for the Ray LaMontagne, Damien Rice, David Gray, Joshua Radin route. Relaxing music keeps me focused.

  • Barbara

    Mike, I’m with you 100%! I listen to Motley Crue, Metallica, Bang Camaro, Pantera and Motorhead on a constant loop. Sometimes I throw in Ministry if I’m feeling sassy.

  • http://www.sixthman.net Mike

    Sorry Barb, I was just kidding. Norah Jones is battling Barry Manilow for the top of my playlist.

  • mandy

    I found that Arctic Monkeys helped me get many a proposal or report done back when i worked in an open office environment. Oh and it helped that I didn’t know any of the words to the songs. I can hum the melodies but can’t sing the words. if I know them, I want to sing them and that doesn’t help ANYONE in the office.

  • http://www.sixthman.net Andy

    Kings of Leon is my new favorite. There is a wager in the office as to how long I will keep it up but its good.

    Can we get smaller offices now if headsets work?

  • http://www.sixthman.net Laura

    If I ever sat at my desk long enough…Colin Hay

  • Pam

    I gotta have my Cowboy Mouth, Carbon Leaf and Marc Broussard to get through my work days.

  • Carrie (MoodyCat)

    My best all time work song (without being too morbid) is War’s Low Rider. Nothing will ever beat driving down the highway at 90 MPH with red lights and siren blaring while my partner and I sang Low Rider at the top of our lungs.

  • Shellica

    When you described the type of song you were looking for I immediately thought of Emerson Hart’s Flyin’. Great choice!

    I also vote to add the following:

    Matt Nathanson – Wedding Dress
    Ben Harper – I’ll Rise

  • Trinity

    My music preference at work is very task-oriented. I build and run reports. When I’m building reports I need to focus and do a lot of critical thinking so I lean towards Tom Petty, the new Griffin House, the Dixie Chicks album Taking The Long Way. Simple rock song structures with a folksy bent that just seem natural and familiar to me. Nothing too distracting.

    When I’m running reports I get bored and operate on auto-pilot. That’s when I need music that challenges me and keeps me alert. I’ll pop in something with much more interesting instrumentation, maybe live Dave Matthews or a CD that’s new to me.

  • http://www.sixthman.net Melissa

    Benji Hughes is great to kick start my day. The alternate routes are good to keep it going and either Mute Math or Nada Surf for that end of day motivation.

  • http://acousticvids.com/mattnathanson matt nathanson music fan

    Hey, I just wanted to drop a note and say nice post!

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