Issue #44 (An Alternative To-do List) 12/16/19
A user on Hacker News shared a website called Music for Programming, which is an older project and is supposed to offer music suitable for high concentration work. Users discussing the site debated whether or not any kind of music is conducive (or at the least, not detrimental) to writing code.
Is any kind of music beneficial to high-concentration work?
The top comment, for example, says:
"Am I the only person who can't listen to anything while coding? My attention goes straight to the music, and I can't concentrate on the task at hand!"
For me, if the music is familiar (which is normally what's in my playlists), then I get more mentally involved in it, so that can be a barrier. On the other hand, if it's without lyrics, that helps me zone it out more. Basically, the more boring it is, the more I'm able to stay focused on the task I'm trying to complete.
In addition, one person commented that open offices have a similar effect to distracting music, with the conversations and noise flowing freely.
Overall, it's clear that every person is different when it comes to what kinds of things break or improve concentration, but it does seem from that thread that a large number of people prefer to code in near silence.
Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!
