Courtesy: Entertainment Tonight
As we get ready for another brutal finals week full of papers, projects, and exams, it’s important to find ways to help yourself get through it all, whether that’s dangerous amounts of coffee (caffeinate responsibly, kids) or hitting the gym a little extra hard.
But we all know the easiest way to make studying a little less miserable to play music while you do it. Some people prefer classical music, saying it’s easy to fade into the background and calms them down. Others say they can’t listen to music at all because it’s too difficult to focus on. Personally, I can’t work without music playing. I find the best way to get me through any studying at all is to have a playlist full of energizing songs that will keep me awake through the most boring of articles. Prepare to be transported back to your middle school dance, because my go-to study music playlist is full of throwbacks.
Britney Spears “Toxic”
It’s been proven that listening to familiar music while studying can help you focus better. This is because music is more distracting when you don’t know what’s going to happen next. It makes it easier to get into the rhythm of reading and tune out disruptive voices and noises. What’s more familiar than the queen of the early 2000s and her hit, “Toxic?” We all know and love it, and it’s not physically possible to fall asleep when the high-pitched strings hit.
The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling”
In recent studies, results show that dance music is the best genre to listen to when you want to be productive. The upbeat, fast-paced grooves make you perform given tasks quicker and with heightened accuracy. There’s no better band known for 2000s club/dance hits like BEP, and nothing screams school dance quite like “I Gotta Feeling.” It’s an anthem, a movement, a callback to simpler times. I’m still waiting for a comeback tour.
Kanye West “Stronger”
This one may be a little counter-productive, as I don’t think I’ve ever been able to listen to early Kanye without singing along. Adorned in all his shutter-shade glory, this song off his acclaimed Graduation album had us all losing our minds 11 years ago (can you believe it’s been that long???), and it’s a little too relatable for the pain of studying.
Kelis “Milkshake”
Okay, hear me out. Whenever this song pops up on my study playlist, I can’t help but smile and laugh at all the inappropriate jokes that have been made with it. We’re all still 12 years old sometimes! It’s a welcome break from the serious atmosphere of intense note-taking. I also love Kelis’s latest album, Food, and hearing how much she’s grown as an artist is actually inspirational.
Destiny’s Child “Survivor”
Beyoncé came to the rescue in our time of need bringing us a fabulous Destiny’s Child reunion at her Coachella set. Is there ever a wrong time for Destiny’s Child? I think not. “Survivor” is one of their greatest hits, but given that all of their music was empowering for women, fun to dance to, and honestly iconic, you could probably just play a DC album straight through and find yourself acing all your exams.