Without music, the world would be a pretty dull place, don’t you think? There wouldn’t be anything to compliment the background of a celebration, to motivate us at the gym or at work, to relax us from an angry mood or an upsetting day…
It’s incredible just how impacting music is on one’s mood and environment. One can go from feeling utterly bored and clueless to ultimately creative and excited within a matter of seconds.
In fact, what is most interesting is that research has actually shown that when we listen to music we enjoy, we activate the regions of our brain known as the limbic and paralimbic areas, which connect to euphoric reward responses. This is why we “feel good” when we listen to great music. This response can also be triggered by eating good food.
People who are passionate about the gym often find that listening to music makes a dramatic difference in how they perform when lifting weights or running miles. It gives them that motivation boost they need to lift heavier, run further, and feel more confident in their physical/mental capacity.
But music doesn’t just have the ability to transform our mood. It can do wonders for those who are trying to work productively. For me, when I’m in my studio, classical, jazz, or light rock music gets my creativity flowing. It relaxes me and allows me to focus on the detailed parts of my beadmaking.
The reason is because music is such a good motivator. It increases stimulation due to the connection between auditory (hearing) and motor (brain) neurons. It often encourages us to feel energetic, pumped up, and, thus, motivates our body to move or get something done. Then it’s like a chain effect. When we get up and feel physical, this sparks mental activity and then fuels our productivity. How great is that?
It’s almost impossible to resist how our body wants to move to the rhythm of music, and doing so gets us motivated to accomplish a task. It’s why you might want to turn up the music loud if you’re cleaning the house or when you have a shower. It makes these typically “boring” or “lifeless” moments feel exciting and fun!
The point here is to choose music that aligns with your own personal rhythm or current mood to spark your creativity. Choose music that you love, and discover music that you might love, to motivate you in all aspects of life – in your house after work, on your morning run, falling asleep at night, when cleaning the house, and especially when you’re feeling unproductive at work or with a hobby.
Experiment with different types of music to discover the ones that resonate most explicitly with you. I can promise you that if you’re struggling to feel motivated, good music is one of the keys to successful productivity.
