When I'm coding I like complete silence but not all work is the same.
When I'm doing something I've done a hundred times I can safely have Star Trek playing in the background.
Also, not all show the same, I can safely put Star Trek in the background because I've watched it hundreds of times.
A distraction-free is harder to come by these days. I have to tolerate elmo sing-a-long in the background.
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Distraction. I like to have something on while I work, but I go for instrumental music of some sort (video games music, Vitamin String Quartet, those lofi hip hop beat channels on youtube, etc...) . I can't even have music with lyrics because it takes my attention away from my work.
If I had video game music playing would likely be NES music. eg. BlasterMaster, Ninja Gaiden, TMNT2, River City Ransom
Nice! My go-tos are usually things like Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Animal Crossing (that music is so relaxing, particularly when people put rain sounds behind it on youtube), and, like, random tracks from various other games.
You are right, music with lyrics will distract you because your brain will try to understand the lyrics as well. Listening to music with foreign language lyric that you don't understand will also distract you although not as much as lyric with language you understand. The best music to hear in my opinion is game's bgm, why? Because game's bgm composed without expectation of what the player will do, so I can just listen and code without expecting the music's climax or something.
I hadn't thought of that aspect of game music where there often isn't a climax. That's useful. I find that if I'm listening to electronic music, a steady beat is important. It's fine if the DJ mixes in tracks as long as the underlying tempo remains steady.
I'm the same. TV is a distraction. I'll typically play one of those meditation/relaxation/lofi channels on YouTube. You mentioned a Vitamin String Quartet (haven't heard of that), but my favorite is cello music. I really get into a zone when I listen to cello. I usually listen to David Darling on Google Play Music.
I also have to use headphones. That helps with immersing myself in the music and blocking as much outside sound as possible. I typically use earbuds that seal really well, since the fancier over-the-ear headphones make my head hot and hurt after a while from pushing on my glasses around my ears.
Share some Youtube channels for example if you can. Would love a listen.
Honestly, I typically just do a search for "binaural", "meditation", "deep house" or "lofi" and go from there.
For studying or intense concentration, search for "binaural", "meditation" or "lofi". Personally, I find "binaural" to be the most effective. I don't subscribe to all the new age hoodoo that typically surrounds that, but I have to admit that binaural/alpha wave stuff works for me. I also like some lofi hip hop/coffee shop music.
For focus on programming, I tend to move more toward Deep House music since I want my brain to get into a cycle. This will sound odd and I'm not sure of a better way to explain it, but it puts my brain into a positive feedback loop. Since I'm high-functioning autistic (Aspergers), getting my thought patterns stuck in a loop is actually a problem. It prevents me from progressing in a task. Somehow (again, I refer back to the "new age hoodoo" comment) Deep House helps me control that in positive ways. But the key is a steady, heavy beat. The catch here is that a lot of house music has vocals because they're remixes of pop songs. So it can't be full-on lyrics. But if it's a repetitive voice sample, that's fine. Also, I minimize the window (or switch to a different tab) because a lot of house music on YouTube has visuals.
+1
For some reason, the kids' show Arthur at a very low volume gets me into super-focused ultra-productive tryhard mode.
I think it makes for good white noise, with the downside that I now associate the theme song with crunch time or trying to deliver a feature with a looming insane deadline 😅
I recently discovered that the show is still going on which to me is insane.
Almost how insane I used to go as my twin sister would not stop watching that show.
Depending on my context, I really like this flow. If I am working on a particularly hairy logical problem or working on any crunchtime deadlines it's a distraction.
If I'm kind of setting up scaffolding or marching through unit tests, it's a nice relaxing presence.
I don't have the cable. I consume my medias mainly through streaming. But it is too much of a distraction. I usually listen to instrumental songs either lofi/hip-hop or metal genre. When I need some boost I crank some heavy stuff (wth lyrics) like Cannibal Corpse, Slipknot, Gojira and the likes.
Amazon Prime has been trying to disguise cable packages into their service so anything that looks good prompts to purchase an additional subscription. It's kind of annoying.
Netflix most Star Trek Series so its all I really need
I usually just use music, as I can zone that out super easily but it's not complete silence.
Though I can definitely code with something like a hockey or basketball game in the background (or, like today, with a Raptors Parade in the background [#WeTheNorth]). Full out shows - not so much.
That parade had the GoTrain parking so full that people were risking parking in all available spots of the nearby business's parking lots to they could commute into Toronto to see the parade
Mannnnn that could lead to some annoyed business people. Hopefully they also took the day off to go so they wouldn't be that mad (though probably still mad).
I like is quiet, and prefer no one around. People watching me think I'm having a mental breakdown because I talk to myself and even argue sometimes. Just seems to help me work out problems if I say the out loud.
Something I've tried a handful of times instead of music or podcasts is to stream tv or Netflix in a hidden tab, because it's background noise but not something I can invest in or be emotional about, I'm not discovering a new artist or jamming about. With the tab hidden, pinned or in another window my environment is free from distraction. I just have to stay focused on my narrative while something else parallel to me is ocurring, I think like a podcast it helps me feel a bit less lonely and more attentive to my own situation so I'm less likely to procastinate..
I like to watch tv while doing some low effort work. For example, writing a post for my blog (depends on the content though) or fiddling around with the JS or styling of my blog. Keeps me in the mood for doing both.
It 100% distracts me if I am trying to do actual work though.
Sometimes if I have time to play with a little project I'll watch an old, slower-paced TV show, like original Twilight Zone or Star Trek TOS.
I am mostly self-taught and it took me a while to realize that my output was wayyy higher with the tv off. I usually listen to coding music on coderadio.freecodecamp.org (stuff like Bonobo and nujabes, NO lyrics). Or classical music.
I have also used "coffee shop sounds" from coffitivity.com .
I need music to drown out all the noise around me. Moving visuals I can't do though that's a distraction. Sometimes conference talks are ok as the visuals are much slower paced. My brain can't look away.
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