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When it comes to blogging or writing for private clients, things can seem a little too silent. Should you listen to music while writing?
Let’s be honest; writing is silent work. You’re typing away, and all you hear is your fingers on the keyboard. You may hear the heating or air con turn on, or maybe you hear the traffic outside. Things can still end up being eerily silent, though.
You may enjoy the silence. It could be what helps you think, and I certainly go through stages where that is the case. In fact, I have certain clients where I need silence for. I just can’t concentrate otherwise.
Then I have other clients where I need some sort of noise in the background. But what about you? Should you listen to music while writing? I’m going to help you figure out if it’s right for you.
Do you usually prefer to avoid the silence?
If you find silence uncomfortable, you may want to listen to music while writing. Sitting in silence and not being comfortable with it will end up getting a little distracting. You end up focusing on the various sounds around your house or outside instead of on your work.
But what if you prefer silence? There are some people out there who just like the quiet and can get a lot of work done. If that’s you, why are you even considering breaking that silence?
Do you get distracted when you listen to music while writing?
Have you tried writing while listening to music? This was something that I always did when younger. I needed to drown out the sounds around me so I used music to do that. The music didn’t distract me. It helped me focus.
Then a few years ago, I found that the music was starting to distract me. It was usually with one particular client. I just couldn’t focus on the topic of his content, so I switched the music off and allowed the silence to guide me.
If you get distracted when you listen to music while writing, it’s not going to do you any good. If it’s the silence that distracts you, you’re going to want to drown it out.
It doesn’t matter what other people find useful at this point. It’s all about you.
Could nature sounds work better for you?
One thing that I’ve found for the client I couldn’t listen to music to while working was that I could listen to other sounds. I still ended to drown out some of the distractions around my house, especially if the children were home and talking. So, I’d turn on the nature sounds I listen to when I need to get my anxiety under control.
You could try this. I find thunderstorms and sounds of water help me. Some people find that birds or other animal sounds are better. You’ll figure out something that works for you to work more effectively.
Nature sounds are a little like white noise. They just help to pull you out of your head if you get too deep.
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Will music motivate you to work better?
If you’re like me, you’ll find the right music will motivate you to work. I tend to put on the types of tracks I’d listen to when at the gym or swimming. These types of tracks are high energy and they don’t always have lyrics so they don’t distract me. The purpose is to just allow my mind to work and keep the distractions at bay.
I can escape in the thoughts of what I’m writing about. The lack of sound in the room or the arguing children end up being blocked out, and my body is just ready to go with whatever I’m doing. I’ll even find myself dancing in the chair or on the spot while I’m writing depending on how I’ve got my standing desk ($) set.
When you know music motivates you well, you’ll want to use it to your advantage. Put together a playlist that doesn’t distract and just gets your mind running.
Does music help set the tone of what you’re writing about?
When I’m onto my fiction projects, I will always listen to music while writing. I have particular playlists for projects or for scenes. If I know a sad scene is coming up, I’ll put on that playlist. If I need to write an action scene, I put on the music that would likely work for those types of scenes in movies or on TV shows.
The aim is to get into the mood for particular scenes. This does mean switching out the playlists between sections of writing, but it works for me.
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This is all about you. If music helps you work, why wouldn’t you use it to your advantage?
How do you prefer to work? Do you listen to music while writing? Is it something for you to try? Share your thoughts in the comments below.