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Coding With Music

  • December 3, 2010 at 6:34 am

    #1258355

    White noise/very light music works great for me. I work in an office with 5-foot tall cubicles and the discussions happening all around distracts me a bit. Very light music through the earphones works like a charm in such cases. Complete, pin-drop silence is good only when I am reading a book 🙂

    Thanks & Regards,
    Nakul Vachhrajani.
    http://nakulvachhrajani.com

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  • December 3, 2010 at 6:42 am

    #1258364

    Music for me is a must when at work. I have a radio that I listen to for a few hours in the morning when I'm planning my day and not having to do heavy concentration. Then I switch over to my iPod for the rest of the day. When I really have to concentrate, I have several playlists that I "groove" to when needing to really concentrate and set those playlists to "repeat." Classic and alternative rock is what I primarily listen to.

  • December 3, 2010 at 6:49 am

    #1258374

    I use techno as background noise. I don't usually even like techno. There was an earlier comment by somebody who found themselves working at the tempo of the music; that's exactly the case. Nothing like a turbo brain boost.

  • December 3, 2010 at 6:55 am

    #1258378

    I listen to classical music from my mp3 player (a Zune, if you must ask) to block out distractions. This has not for many years affected my performance, as I am quite used to it. It is the other distractions (phone, people, etc.) that degrade my performance.

  • December 3, 2010 at 6:56 am

    #1258379

    Speaking of other workspace improvements that Steve wrote about in the editorial, I like to write and think. I therefore use the whiteboard and/or the notebook a lot and one might find me holed up all alone with a cup of coffee in a small meeting room (small being the key-word. A large meeting room distracts me) looking at the whiteboard and pacing up and down quite a bit.

    All my managers till date have been very supportive of this habit of mine and have always ensured that I get the time and environment that I need to think through a problem.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Nakul Vachhrajani.
    http://nakulvachhrajani.com

    Follow me on
    Twitter: @sqltwins

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:01 am

    #1258383

    two words... Joe Satriani.

    At least with music that you know it is less distracting than background. The issue is when coupled with a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones on a noisy floor... someone can stand at your desk talking to you and you have no clue. I can no longer count the number of times i have been hit in the head from someone tossing something over the wall at me when they needed my attention.

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:06 am

    #1258387

    I have found that listening to music helps me while I'm doing more mundane tasks, but when I really need to concentrate, I have to hit pause. I also think that wearing headphones helps deter coworkers from stopping to just chat.

    Curtis

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:10 am

    #1258393

    I agree. It's the same for me. Pandora.com has been a great find in this area -- I have a modren jazz station that I have trained to focus on instrumental jazz. The syncopated rhythms seem to mesh with my brainwaves and help me concentrate in our noisy office.

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:13 am

    #1258397

    I was one of those kids that did his homework with the stereo blasting.

    Having said that . . . I find that I sometimes can't work without music. At work, I mostly listen to classical and jazz. (I love my classic rock too, but it's too distracting to listen to at work.) Mostly, I listen to jazz -- mainly because I don't want to bore my office partner with some of the "longhair" stuff that I listen to! 😉

    I should mention that I'm also a musician myself in my spare time -- I grew up playing classical piano, and I play clarinet for a large symphonic community concert band.

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  • December 3, 2010 at 7:18 am

    #1258399

    I have also found that wireless headphones are indispensable. I tried many brands -- now I have two pairs of Logitech ClearChat wireless headphones, which are great for listening to music and the inevitable teleconference.

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:24 am

    #1258403

    Not often, but I sometimes turn on something like smooth jaz or classical music, if I'm working on repetitive tasks like deploying scripts, reading through a long list of emails, or performing a line by line search / replacement on source code. However, if I'm writing new code or if I run into a particularly frustrating technical snag that demands my attention, then I find music or office interruptions break my concentration. When working from my home office on the weekend, I like to leave the window open, because I find the neighborhood noise of kids playing basketball or a distant lawn mower cozy and not distracting in the same way as music or talk radio can be.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:25 am

    #1258404

    I have one of these 2 stations going all day long and find that it helps me block out all the distractions of the office and stay focused on what ever I'm working on.

    http://www.klove.com/listen/player.aspx

    http://www.air1.com

    I find the music very encouraging and it helps me stay positive when the mundane tasks come along.

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:26 am

    #1258405

    I hear sounds very well so I don't like to have to listen to someone else's music in the office even if they play it softly. If I am concentrating on something interesting I enjoy silence. However sometimes it is so quiet in the office that all you hear is your own computer, the clacking of the keyboard, the ticking of the clock, people clearing their throats or coughing, people lifting up their coffee mugs and taking a sip and then putting it down again, the creaking of your own chair and the occasional bump that seems to come from nowhere.

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:33 am

    #1258408

    I work on an office building floor where there are about 200 cubicles. Being cold and flu season, one thing I've noticed is that if one person coughs, then it immediately sets off a chain reaction of about a dozen other people coughing, and then it will be silent again for several more minutes.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • December 3, 2010 at 7:34 am

    #1258409

    Normally I like having music available. I use a "Slacker" player and change stations as the mood suits me.

    However; when there are fires to be put out, and I need to focus all my concentration, the music seems to set me on edge. I have even asked other nearby workers to go somewhere else and visit. Once I arrive at a solutions, I am alright with the noise.

    Mike

    “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”...Robert McCloskey

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