Sometimes I look around my office and wonder how I ever manage to spend so much time in one tiny crammed space.

Sometimes, I work for hours on end into the night, trying to get an assignment or side-project finished. And I start thinking about all the other people I know…who are NOT working at this hour. They’re doing something fun or, better yet, they might be sound asleep. Then I start thinking about all the sleep I will miss out on, how I have to get up early the next day no matter what.

And pretty soon, you start going crazy. Too many things to do. Hardly a day of rest in this economy, and the money goes towards paying bills anyway. So what’s the point?

Of course, this kind of thinking should be prohibited as it gets you nowhere fast. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly how you will and can self-induce depression and anxiety. Especially if the majority of your social interaction takes place between you and the computer.

The best thing for me to do in situations like this — no, going to the beach for an afternoon is unfortunately not an option for me — is to listen to “specific music.” This might ring true with some of you who are in similar situations. However, the “specific music” I listen to has to do the following:

• Don’t involve my mind into anything that requires thinking about it. I already have to focus on my work, so it has to be background music. If it’s familiar, even better.
• No lyrics. But this rule may be broken any time. If there are lyrics, it has to be something “abstract” and familiar. For me, that would be the (mostly) British progressive-rock band YES, especially the “Highlights – The Very Best Of Yes” album. Nothing that makes me go, “What did they just sing?” Just some lyrics that I’ve heard over and over already.
• Repetitious motives work extremely well. Whether you prefer progressive rock, jazz, math rock, trance, classical or psychedelic, I have found that anything with repetitious musical themes works really well to calm down my subconscious thinking. Somehow, it helps my mind know what to expect. Unlike the work that I do — in which a project can be cancelled anytime or the requirements might change and the 4–hour GUI design I finished after midnight might end up in the trash — a repetitive melody or riff structure will involve that part of my brain and lead it elsewhere.
• Volume is important, too. Obviously, if you work by yourself, that might not always seem like an issue to you. However, in my case (and you may be totally different), too much music that’s too loud will actually result in a headache. On the other hand, if I can barely hear it and have to strain my auditory senses, I end up concentrating on that — instead of my work. So find what works best for you, and feel free to invest in a pair of comfortable headphones.

So, having said all that, you’re probably wondering, “What should I listen to?” There’s no right answer, of course, that would work for everybody. Each one of us has different tastes in music, and there might be some overlap, but hardly ever do we agree on much.

Without hoping that anyone out there would agree with my musical choices (but they work for me), I’m going to list a few of my favorites. At any rate, I would love to hear from you. Tell me what works and, if you could, explain to me why you think it keeps you sane, makes you more productive, etc.

Yes – “Highlights – The Very Best Of Yes”

Carbon Based Lifeforms – anything, but in particular the albums “Hydroponic Gardens” and “World Of Sleepers”

Ulrich Schnauss – everything, but if you want specifics, how about the albums “Far Away Trains Passing By” and “A Strangely Isolated Place”

Peter White – most everything, specifically “Glow,” “Caravan Of Dreams” and “Reflections”

BrainSync (Kelly Howell) – just about any of their subliminal albums with a topic of interest (since I don’t smoke, the smoke cessation program wouldn’t do much for me and Deep Sleep just doesn’t seem appropriate for some reason)

Tags: music for programming, music to program by, music for developers,