Finals week is officially here! For most of us, that means stress, coffee, stress, studying, and more stress! I know that I’m the kind of person who’s distracted very easily if I’m not in the right environment to study, and it’s taken me a while to figure out exactly what that environment is. I’ve tried the library, coffee shops, my room, the education building…it’s been a struggle. At the library, I get too tired from the bright lights and my eyes start to hurt. At the coffee shop and the education building, I run into too many people I know and get distracted chatting. In my room, I get tired and let myself lay on the bed for a break…then fall asleep. I’ve discovered, however, that if I’m in my room with the right kind of music playing, then I can sit for a few hours and get work done, taking quick breaks to make coffee (or tea if at night), go to the bathroom, or get food. A good flow of music gets me in the perfect mindset to sit down and bang out some homework or studying, and I’ve made myself the perfect playlist for it. It has over a hundred songs on it, so I won’t be listing it here, but here are some of the main artists that I’ve included for the right study session!
- Hozier
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Hozier’s music is super chill and relaxing, but has enough intensity to it that you won’t fall asleep. It’s the absolute ideal background music for sitting down to study. Some of my favorites of his that I’ve included (but not all) are From Eden, In a Week (ft. Karen Cowley), Work Song, and Like Real People Do.
- Ed Sheeran
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Oh, boy, do I love this man and his music. We all know that Ed has some real bops, but he also has some super relaxing songs. I have multiple songs from all of his albums on my playlist, but here are some of the best ones for this mood: Hearts Don’t Break Around Here, What Do I Know?, How Would You Feel (Paean), Give Me Love, Bloodstream, English Rose, and New York.
- Niall Horan
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Niall’s album is awesome, and it has some really chill, relaxing songs on it! I’ve included On the Loose, Mirrors, The Tide, and Too Much To Ask.
- Sam Smith
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Sam Smith has a lot of sad, heartbreaking songs, but he also has a lot of chill songs that aren’t as well known. Some of his songs that are on my playlist are Money On My Mind, No Peace (feat. YEBBA), and Lay Me Down.
- ZAYN
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I love this man!!! So much!! His new album is absolutely amazing, and could be the entirety of my playlist. However, some of my favorites that are easy to vibe to when studying are Let Me, Talk To Me, Entertainer, Back To Life, and There You Are (this one’s a little more intense and less chill than the rest, but it’s absolutely amazing, so if you won’t listen to anything else in this article, listen to that one…you won’t regret it).
- Adele
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We haven’t heard anything new from Adele in a while, and similar to Sam Smith, she has a lot of heartbreak songs. As I’m writing this, however, her song Why Do You Love Me is playing, and the words are just coming to me. I’ve also included her songs Lovesong, Water Under the Bridge, River Lea, He Won’t Go, and more.
I have a tons of other artists on my playlist, but everyone has different tastes in music, so your playlist should reflect your own taste! Find a vibe that works for you, and good luck on finals!
HCXO, Lola
*All images are courtesy of Google Images