I'm always on the lookout for music to listen to while I code. Finding the right album or playlist can help me sink into deep work and I get lost in code for hours (in a good way, with deep focus I mean).
Here's one from Spotify that I'm loving right now. Really gets me in the zone. Would love to hear suggestions for other good ones though.
Playlist link: https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX0r3x8OtiwEM?si=f8MXDYSxQ_6-xE4-OPF67w
Eager to hear other's suggestions too - I find discovering music difficult nowadays that I don't listen to radio at all.
Top comments (21)
Funny how brains differ in these. If I'm not listening to a podcast or even news on TV - not for the content but merely for the cadence of speech - it's hard to get work done at all. I have no explanation for this except that as an undergraduate I wrote my thesis while listening to (then) all 12 years worth of This American Life.
But for side-project tinkering, this just scrapes from hypem.net and works quite well for me. Might be a little different from what you're used to, but there's not a single genre or anything and so it can get interesting.
This is nice I like this so far, thanks for the recommendation!
The Alpha Chill channel on focus@will (focusatwill.com/) is my favorite for getting into and staying in a flow/productive state while coding or doing something that requires concentration. Focus@will is about music/sounds for productivity, not for entertainment. They have a test you take that tries to figure out which channel will work best for you, but it got me wrong. There are not a ton of channels or options because you're not supposed to be distracted by it, you're supposed to turn it on and be productive. I think they have a free trial. It also has a timer you can set for a period of time after which the music stops, which is great for people who like time boxing/pomodoroing. I like to pick a specific task/goal that I want to focus on until complete, then get all set up and distraction free, set the timer/music to 25 minutes. At the end of the 25 minutes, if it is not complete yet, I will get up and, as quickly as possible, do 50 jumping jacks (I heard about this on a podcast), which gets your heart pumping and gets you all pumped up and focused, and then immediately sit right back down and set it to 25 again and get right back to work, but now with greater intensity and focus. Once the task/goal is complete, even if not at the 25 minute mark, I stop the music and actually get up and take a real break. I find it helpful to pick a task/goal that will probably take 3 sessions, since that is enough time to get the productivity benefits of 3 full sessions with no real breaks breaking up the productivity. I'm still working on perfecting that last part. I'm not sure how to pick something that will take exactly 3 sessions. Taking a break before that feels line somewhat of a waste, and I find it hard to not do a full break after I complete the task... I guess I could try focusing on something that would take multiple groups of sessions, but that somewhat kills the excitement and productivity that comes from being able to complete the task somewhat quickly and taking a celebratory break.
It might not be the best coding playlist, but I have three methods for discovering new music.
Method 1 : listen to the discover weekly playlist every monday, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's terrible and sometimes it's decent
Method 2 : listen to a random playlist on spotify
Method 3 : find a song I like on youtube and fall into the music recommendation rabbit hole.
Yep the discover weekly playlist is good! I find some gems in there sometimes. And yeah that's a good tip for Youtube, I used to use that a lot years ago but not recently, thanks for reminding me :)
Try this out its my go to work playlist inspired by 80s video game bgm and the steven universe ost: It's called chiptune chill
open.spotify.com/user/12167856216/...
Right now, I'm listening to this playlist:
(Somehow, Spotify Embed didn't work for this playlist...)
open.spotify.com/playlist/4KQAsa7I...
In this playlist is a lot of good music to get "lost in code for hours" (in a good way 😉)
The Grand Sound on YouTube has many several hour playlists of varying styles of House. Deep House, Future House, Progressive Trance, etc.
Highly recommend it.
My go-to is usually video game soundtracks. Most of the songs are designed to be non-intrusive and without lyrics (I simply cannot read or write when there are words).
If I'm trying to wind down and read I'll listen to the ~45 minute Skyrim atmospheres track on repeat.
haha, I'm listening to the same lowkey tech playlist the last weeks :)
So funny, I literally was googling to see if I happened to be the only one who found this playlist to be the best playlist for focusing while coding. HUGE drum and bass guy personally but just too taxing on the ears for long code sessions, this has good steady energy without breaking your focus.
It's good right!? :)
I'll have to try this.
My coding music preferences differ from my normal music preferences, and when I'm really wanting to get into it, I need something with a beat that doesn't build or drop, but hits a level and stays there. I have a playlist that's two Neu! songs, "Für Inner" and "Hallogallo", over and over, that I put in when I'm desperate for the Zone.
I see you are a man of culture as well. I can recommend the Deep House Relax and Music for Concentration playlists!