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Calming

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There is plenty of white noise around us and many distractions too.

When working in an office environment it is often noisy with collegues having phone conversations, printers printing off documents, computers whizzing, phones ringing and many more.

When working in hospitals and cafes and factories and other areas open to the public there are also lots of noises occuring with babies crying, machines whirring and more.

We are, as a society, used to working with lots of noises around us. At school we never worked in silence- we always had the sounds of the tractors outside mowing lawns or the other class next door having a debate. There are always things occuring so we are used to having distractions.

Within the workplace music would just be yet another background noise and one which you can choose to focus on instead of someone else's phone call conversation which would be far more distracting.

Music can enhance our ability to work. Studies carried out by psychologists have proved that music can enhance work output with people performing better to tasks when there is music in the background whilst they work. As well as music enhancing work output it has also been shown to help improve work morale and the general moods of people. Having music in the background can be a bonding experience, it can also lift your mood.

When I used to listen to work at music it helped me focus. It helped me to block out the noises of my work mates talking as I worked in a very open plan area. If I really needed to concentrate I would plug my mp3 player in and shut off all those around me. It would jus be me and my work that was part of my time and blocked out eveyrthing else around.

I found that if I listened to the radio it would distract me as I would listen to the debates and news and things, but if it was just music it didn't distract me at all and helped me to stay calm. The slower the music and the more familiar the easier it was to help me to stay relaxed and focussed. The music also had to be at a medium volume. If it was too loud i couldn't concentrate but too quiet and I found myself still listening to the noises around me and also trying to work out what the song was! A good middle volume was a happy medium for me.

I think I am the kind of person who can listen to music and have distractions and not be put off my work. Perhaps there are some people, introverts as research suggests, who will not be able to tolerate music whilst waiting.

Learn more about this author, Laura Marshall.
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