If you’re anything like me, you need music to work. I cannot work without something in the background, I don’t know what it is, but I can’t work with absolute quiet. Listening to music while working actually has some benefits: the first being increased productivity; according to a November 2016 study, “a vast majority (79%) of people can boost their productivity by listening to music.” It can also reduce stress.
According to psychcentral.com, “listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds.” It can lead to increased focus; listening to music can help you drown out all the other noise around you and help you focus on the task at hand. Lastly, it can lead to an improved mood; listening to music we like releases a chemical called dopamine from the brain, making you feel happy or content.
Recently, there have been three albums that I’ve been listening to while I’m working.
- “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” by Billie Eilish
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Billie Eilish rose to fame in 2016 when she started recording music with her brother Finneas O’Connell in her childhood bedroom. I love Billie Eilish because of her soft, versatile sound, and the fact that even though she is so famous and followed around by media, she remains humble. I also love Billie Eilish because she stands up to the media sexualizing teenage singer-songwriters by wearing baggy clothing. “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” is Billie Eilish’s debut studio album. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records.
- “Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa
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Dua Lipa rose to fame when she started doing song covers on YouTube in 2014; in 2015, she was signed to Warner Music Group and released her debut single in August of that year. Her songs “Be The One” and “Hotter Than Hell” became hits all across Europe and the U.K. In 2017, she achieved success in the U.S. when her song “New Rules” hit the charts. “Future Nostalgia” is the second studio album by Dua Lipa. It was released on March 27, 2020, by Warner Records, after the full album leaked two weeks before its original release date of April 3, 2020.
- “Don’t Smile at Me” by Billie Eilish
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This is Billie Eilish’s debut EP. It was released on August 11, 2017, through Interscope Records and includes several of her previously released singles, including “Ocean Eyes,” which was included in the movies “The Hate You Give” and “Everything, Everything.” Her songs “Bellyache,” and “My Boy” were used in the fourth episode of the third season of American television series “Shadowhunters.”
Listening to these albums instantly calms me down and clears my head of everything else I’m thinking about and just focus on work. I especially like the two albums by Billie Eilish because her soft-pop music just makes me focus on the task at hand.
If I ever need motivation to start work or to keep working, I go to Spotify and just play something from any one of these albums, and I’m set! If you need relaxing music to do work to, I recommend these albums to anyone and everyone.