How to be more productive with musical anchors

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Music while working can not only be enjoyable, but also useful. Find out how you can use it to quickly switch between different activities, and check it out for yourself. A good selection of music is attached.

Anchoring technique: what is it and why is it needed

Imagine how convenient it would be to have a special toggle switch that would instantly reconfigure you from one type of work to another. Now we are done with boring calculations. Click! Inspiration is right there, and letter by letter proposals for a new article are collected.

Alas, it usually takes 10 to 15 minutes of precious time to readjust to a different activity. And sometimes at this moment the internal procrastinator manages to take possession of us, drawing us into social networks, humorous quotation books and galleries of funny pictures.

Good news: the magic toggle switch exists! Even a whole panel of switches. But the bad news is that you have to sweat while you figure out which button will enable your personal efficiency mode, and which will help you relax faster.

Have you noticed how your mood instantly improves with your favorite melody, and with the rhythmic sounds of dance music, your legs start to dance? Yes, music is our wonderful switch. But these are all random outbursts of mood. How do you turn them into productivity drivers?

A popular technique from the arsenal of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) will help. This area of practical psychology is the most discussed and criticized, and its methods are considered the most controversial, which does not prevent the use of those that really work.

An anchor in psychology is called a material attachment that causes a certain psychological state.

For example, a movement or a sequence of actions: in order to tune in to work, you first need to lay out the papers, disassemble the desktop, sharpen a pencil.

Smells are another kind of anchors. The aroma of coffee awakens in the morning, even if the drink itself has not yet been drunk, and the scent of meadow flowers makes you remember your grandmother's school holidays in the village.

Colors also carry associative ties: red excites and energizes, blue calms and relaxes, black carries information about sadness, negativity and suffering.

But the most common anchor is music. Melody, tempo, vocal content adjust to the working rhythm or relax, make you sad or happy, cause a smile or aggression.

Anchors are secured in two ways. The first is the peak of a vivid emotional experience. If a wave of feelings swept over you during a romantic dance, the melody will certainly be remembered and will cause awe for a long time. The film made me akin to the hero - now the title musical theme will forever be associated with this story. Who, at the first chords of Gonna Fly Now, does not want to jump off the spot and run like Rocky up the steps of the Philadelphia stairs?

This method cannot be controlled, and it will not be possible to anchor a certain mood on your own. You can only remember how different compositions pull us by the spiritual strings, and apply them to suitable life situations.

The second method is also known - multiple repetitions. Like the wards of Academician Pavlov, the creator of the theory of conditioned reflexes, we are able to develop responses to external stimuli, repeating the chain "anchor - association - action" over and over again. Speaking of reflexes, they imply physiological processes, but the emotional anchor reinforces unconscious psychological reactions. This is exactly what is needed in order to quickly switch from one type of activity to another and not lose concentration in the course of work.

How to choose the right music for your productive work

Unfortunately, there is no list of musical compositions that are suitable for everyone for sports or intellectual work. But there are some basic principles to help you set up your personal productivity music console.

1. It is better to go straight from individual compositions to reconfiguring to specific musical styles. Then, with the help of a previously prepared playlist or a thematic radio station, it will be possible to maintain the desired emotional background, and the music will not bore you with constant repetitions.

2. Slow tempo music is suitable for focused work. And vice versa: the faster the composition, the more you will want to move, and not reflect. Choose relaxed rhythms for relaxation, calm and measured styles for intellectual work, dynamic for boring and routine tasks, something lively and energetic for cleaning, rhythmic for sports training.

3. Do not choose vocal pieces as a background for thoughtful work. On a subconscious level, the brain will read the semantic content of the compositions, and the focus on the main thing will be lost. For the same reason, you should not turn on talk radio stations. An alternative is songs in unfamiliar or unknown languages: the voice will not become a semantic load for the brain and will be perceived as part of the melody.

4. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the binding of a particular style of music to the type of activity.

If you break the rule "one style - one type of work" - the magic begins to break down, the habit disappears, and productive switching will have to be set up from scratch.

The uniqueness of the anchor is a must. It should be clearly associated with one psychological state and only with it.

5. Better to abandon anchored musical styles outside of work contexts. So, having chosen jazz accompaniment for work on texts, you will have to refrain from listening to it during your rest. Surely, in the middle of a trumpet quartet performance at the conservatory, you will not want to find in yourself a persistent desire to work, and not enjoy the melodies.

6. Use high-quality acoustics or isolate yourself from surrounding irritants with headphones. Allow the subconscious to dissolve into work and music, merging into a single emotional dance. The quality of recordings and equipment is of fundamental importance: let the music please, and not annoy with hiss or other defects.

How to anchor a music anchor

1. Tune in to the type of activity to which you want to anchor the new anchor. You need a positive desired emotional background: perseverance, patience, creativity, calmness or activity. It is better not to work at all without the attitude, and it is completely useless to consolidate good habits.

2. Try a style of music that best suits the energetic side of your work. Check your mood.

It's easy and pleasant to work - the music fits. Work is not progressing, you get distracted, irritation grows - change the music.

Smoothly vary the rhythms and styles of the compositions until you find the right ones.

3. Doing work day after day, accustom the body to the background of a specific stylistic orientation. The habit is fixed for at least 21 days, and old reflexes need to be interrupted by months of repetitions. And don't try to fix musical toggle switches for all kinds of activity at once. Create a switch first for intellectual work, then for sports, then for creative work. Over time, it will turn out to subtly select styles in such a way that even small differences in work have unique anchors that allow you to work productively. For example, for running - one thing, and for the gym - another, for calculations - your rhythms, and for writing articles - your own.

Musical selections for different types of activities

In conclusion, I will share my personal collection of musical anchors. Some I use myself, the rest I cite as an example. Perhaps you will find suitable music selections among the links.

I use internet radio as endless playlists:

• Digitally Imported (electronic music);
• Radio Tunes (a selection of different styles);
• Jazz Radio (jazz, blues, bossanova, latina);
• Classic Radio (from modern classics to Vivaldi);
• Rock Radio (music in different rock styles).

These sites are part of the same AudioAddict Network group. Registration is through, including through Google or Facebook. Advertising is minimal, and turning it off costs only $ 4 a month for all sites at once - not bad for more than a hundred different radio stations. Let's go from calm channels to more dynamic ones, and then - according to your taste.

Meditation - Calm pace, natural or background sounds.

• Meditation;
• Nature;
• Ambient;
• Space Music.

Reflections - psychedelic overflows and calm drums.

• PsyChill;
• Dream Scapes;
• ChillStep;
• Smooth Beats.

Relaxation - smooth electronic or classical instrumental compositions.

• Downtempo Lounge;
• Chillout;
• New Age;
• Mellow Smooth Jazz;
• Smooth Lounge;
• Relaxing Ambient Piano;
• Classical Relaxation.

Calm, measured work - rhythmic but soft instrumental, jazz, electronic or fusion compositions.

• Lounge;
• ChillHop;
• Smooth Jazz;
• Smooth Bossa Nova;
• Solo Piano;
• Café de Paris.

Dynamic work - clear and sonorous rhythm, positive attitude.

• Indie Beats;
• Soulful House;
• Chill & Tropical House;
• Jazz House;
• Electro Swing;
• Smooth UpTempo;
• Bossa Nova;
• Easy Classical;
• Soft Rock.

Energetic work, cleaning - invigorates and pulls to dance, styles for every taste.

• Nu Disco;
• Dance Hits;
• Club;
• Indie Dance;
• Bassline;
• Top Hits;
• Blues Rock;
• Pop Rock;
• Salsa.

Enjoy listening and productive work!