Even as the economy is slowly beginning to open up with the re-opening of many offices and establishments, many employees are still required to work from home.
We are aware that tackling productivity these days is like walking on eggshells. You have to survey the room because who wants to read productivity articles these days when some of us are having a hard time getting a nice, long sleep or dreaming extra vivid alternate worlds during slumber?
Also, WFH seems like working for 24/7 for some. Work chat groups keep buzzing during weekends, holidays and late at night. Work apps don’t survey the room first before directions meant for sudden executions. WFH is sometimes confused with push-button mode. Circumstances like these leave employees without a choice but to power through and remain productive. After all, we’re grateful we have jobs to sustain life during this new normal.
When you were at the office, there was that constant pace of noise from people coming in and out or stopping by your cubicle for quick alignments. Remember the usual noise peaking when lunch hour is minutes away? That same pleasant moderate collective banter returns when people are about to end the work day.
We don’t have that kind of clatter at home. If you’re living with kids, there’s no pattern for the noise. If you’re living alone, there’s utter silence. Either way, there will be days when it’s a bit more difficult getting to that point where you have access to deep and productive focus.
I used to go for some loud songs from Incubus when I wanted to concentrate at the office. This doesn’t quite work at home so here are some soundtracks that helped me get going over the past couple of weeks.
Music from Ramin Djawadi. Yes, the soundtracks of Game of Thrones and Westworld tend to force me to pound on my keyboard these days. It has something to do with the escalating style of the composer—that gradual transition from eerie to ominous to tragic eruption of music result to a pushy feel. Somehow, listening to these songs makes you want to evolve with the soundtrack. When you need to be productive a good music “story” that has a beginning, middle, climax and ending may really do the trick. It probably has something to do with the classical feel of the songs. And we all know that classical music is known to inspire.
The 1980s. When it comes to setting the mood, the ’80s is a music supermarket for pumped-up feels and adrenalin rush. There is a reason why this decade remains the most defined in music. Apart from the entire fashion and culture that went with it, the ’80s sound had a lot of quality songwriting going with the beat that held that generation together. You can always play Madonna and Michael Jackson to get those creative juices flowing.
The Beatles. Imagine the geniuses of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the background with some of George Harrison’s toppermost of the poppermost contributions. The songs of the Fab Four are like raffle entries inside a fish bowl—with your name written in every raffle entry. You always win.
So let’s rock our own mood music because getting the soundtrack of your life is way easier now compared to before. You just need Spotify or Apple Music and let’s say a Smart Giga Music subscription and you’ll never run out of soundtracks to afford eargasmic escapes or mood transformations.
The author is a former entertainment reporter and editor before shifting to corporate PR. Follow @kayevillagomez on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.