Listening to music while working as a programmer
Do you like listening to music while you work? Read here how this can affect both your efficiency in work and the code quality!
Well-being is the key
Programmers have to be fully concentrated at work and ideally still be in a good mood. As you know, music can significantly improve our well-being. Happy hormones such as dopamine are released. Under their influence, a person relaxes, which significantly affects the effectiveness of his work. When someone is stressed, music acts like a "soothing hum" that allows them to relax.
Full concentration
As I prepare to write this text, I found many articles whose content itself suggests that listening to music is a central part of the programmer's job. That doesn't surprise me, because practice shows many advantages.
In particular, wearing headphones allows you to better focus on the work at hand. When listening to music you won't be disturbed by irritating noises like phone calls, clattering chairs or slurping colleagues. If you are under time pressure to meet deadlines, headphones help to avoid being spoken to by colleagues.
Developers often have to perform repetitive tasks that are tiresome and boring for them. In these works, music helps to stimulate the brain to prevent possible "switching off".
Psychological research also proves that some programmers can work faster thanks to listening to music. They also find it easier to solve problems that arise.
Listening to music and teamwork
Opponents believe that listening to music at work has a negative impact on teamwork. If you put on headphones while working, it will be difficult for your colleagues to communicate with you. This can lead to piecemeal isolation from the team. In addition, you may miss important discussions about working together.
A study by Robert Half Technology concludes that the constant wearing of headphones is one of the most common reasons for bad moods in American companies. Work colleagues claim that music listeners disconnect from the world of work and avoid social relationships.
Music for programming?
But what kind of music should you listen to while programming? Here opinions differ. It depends on taste as well as the attention concentrated coding requires. Programmers often choose to listen to instrumental music because, unlike songs with lyrics, it doesn't interfere as much with concentration while coding.
Also worth mentioning is a website called "musicforprogramming.com" which, as the name implies, was created specifically for programmers. This is a collection of relaxing music to help you focus on coding. Although the playlist isn't very impressive at first glance (there are only 46 tracks), you won't get bored anytime soon as each track lasts around an hour.
A substitute for music at work
I'm one of those people who, when they have to concentrate fully on work, even get distracted by instrumental music. So I looked for a suitable replacement and found one. The website is called “Rainy Mood” and plays sounds of rain or stormy weather. This "sound" not only allows you to fully concentrate on the activities to be carried out, but also has a calming and relaxing effect. If you also have a concentration problem, I recommend you try this tool!
To hear or not to hear?
Opinions about “listening to music at work” are divided. Because of this, my answer is “It depends”. I feel music can be very useful when you really need to focus on your work. However, like everything else, listening to music while working must be done with moderation and sensitivity. It is important to maintain a good relationship with colleagues. So maybe sitting there all day with headphones in your ears isn't the best idea.
