Some people say you should study in absolute silence. Because some people haven’t studied in a very long time. Or did it back when playing music at home meant hiring a bard. Or they view study academic purgatory, a painful state you must endure to gain access to the heavens of education. Whatever they think they’re wrong. The whole point of higher education is learning the best way for you to learn. Music is just one tool you might find useful.
The right music can add tempo and energy to a long study session. It accesses bits of your brain you’re not using while calculating equations and motivates the whole mind to speed up and keep going. Music is also an unobtrusive timer for your work. Checking the clock interrupts your mental flow. It’s also subconsciously discouraging. Every time you look at that minute hand you’re telling yourself “How long until I can stop doing this?”, and that’s not a good attitude. An album or playlist measures out time just as accurately without ever needing to be checked. When a song stops you know it’s been a few minutes, so maybe you should be moving on from the current question. When the tunes stop entirely the time is up!
The choice of music makes a big difference. It’s probably best to avoid music with lyrics. You’re not going to concentrate on other words when you’re singing along to your favourite song. Luckily the internet makes it easy to find endless ambient music. You can expand your musical horizons as well as your exam knowledge by trying new kinds each night. For example I’m the words most studiously sedentary dance music fan, switching to two-hour EDM tracks of BBC Essential Mix. I enjoy a whole new artist every time I get things done.
Instead of being a distraction music can be a shield for your study, satisfying the part of your brain bugging you about being bored. It feels like entertainment instead of endurance. It’s an active element adding to your mind. And headphones are a powerful shield against other people poking holes in your dedicated study time. Or maybe music doesn’t work for you. Maybe it’s too distracting. And that’s fine! You’ve tried it, found out it doesn’t work for you, so now you know you prefer the quiet and will work better to maintain that instead. Either way you’ll be working better.
Music can add energy without distraction.
The right music can add tempo and energy to a long study session. It accesses bits of your brain you’re not using while calculating equations and motivates the whole mind to speed up and keep going. Music is also an unobtrusive timer for your work. Checking the clock interrupts your mental flow. It’s also subconsciously discouraging. Every time you look at that minute hand you’re telling yourself “How long until I can stop doing this?”, and that’s not a good attitude. An album or playlist measures out time just as accurately without ever needing to be checked. When a song stops you know it’s been a few minutes, so maybe you should be moving on from the current question. When the tunes stop entirely the time is up!
The choice of music makes a big difference. It’s probably best to avoid music with lyrics. You’re not going to concentrate on other words when you’re singing along to your favourite song. Luckily the internet makes it easy to find endless ambient music. You can expand your musical horizons as well as your exam knowledge by trying new kinds each night. For example I’m the words most studiously sedentary dance music fan, switching to two-hour EDM tracks of BBC Essential Mix. I enjoy a whole new artist every time I get things done.
Instead of being a distraction music can be a shield for your study, satisfying the part of your brain bugging you about being bored. It feels like entertainment instead of endurance. It’s an active element adding to your mind. And headphones are a powerful shield against other people poking holes in your dedicated study time. Or maybe music doesn’t work for you. Maybe it’s too distracting. And that’s fine! You’ve tried it, found out it doesn’t work for you, so now you know you prefer the quiet and will work better to maintain that instead. Either way you’ll be working better.
