How focused is your work time?

[juliantrueflynn]

Do you guys listen to movies, music, etc while working?

When I was around 12-13 I started computer animation and one of the big things was never listen to anything while working on your project. Any of the distractions could mess up the flow and style of your work. If you were listening to heavy metal one day and then next have acoustic music you might suddenly have an animation that is not consistent in mood.

I really don't animate anymore, but I totally lost this discipline of working in silence. Now I'm watching docs, listening to stand-up comedy, music, whatever while working. It's a very tough habit to break.

 

[CCarter]

When designing I'll listen to music with vocals. When coding I'll listen to classical music (no vocals) to get my brain waves in the right pattern. Other then that if I start goofing off with shows and stuff I know nothing is going to get done for the rest of the day. It's hard but I found changing locations helps change my focus of what I'm working on. That separation of home and business is critical at times to keep your sanity.

 

[Andrewkar]

Right now I don't listen to any music while working. I have noticed that when I want to stay 100% focused on work, music is a huge distraction to my productivity. Not because I'm getting slower etc. but because music have huge impact on my mood. So at this moment I consider music pure entertainment, just can't work effectively while listening to music, I need silence. It might change soon though, who knows.

 

[Ryuzaki]

For me, vocals and anything to do with reading, writing, and thinking is a no-go. If I'm working with code, it's fine. Same with movies. Ultimately I just end up sitting in silence all day.

 

[stackcash]

For me, I need silence. I can't have people asking me questions, I can have the phone on, I can't have the girlfriend around. I need to be alone. This is how my day needs to start too. If I start the day with something other than work....then it's very likely not much is getting done other than maintenance work.