I often have to work on a computer from home, and find it hard to motivate myself unless I have something playing in the background because otherwise it's just too quiet. But then picking the wrong thing is just as distracting. So what works best for you as background when you need to get stuff done?

The radio (I end up paying too much attention to it, especially talk shows)
White noise (I get sleepy )
Classical music (I can't decide which is best so keep changing it)
Any other sort of music (ditto)

What works for me for now is finding a foreign news channel on Internet radio. I can't understand a word, but it's enough to keep me focused.

There are lots of apps out there too, like for the sound made in a coffee shop, or airport music.

What works for you? I'd be interested to hear - thanks

[LiteraryLark]

It depends for what mood I'm in and the time of day.

If it's earlier in the day, I'll alternate between country and my "Ultimate Playlist" I designed for road trips and relaxing in the backyard.

Sometimes classic rock is good, but not all the time.

If it's late at night and I need to go to bed soon I'll listen to comfort music like Enya and Matchbox 20.

If I have a big project or cleaning I listen to my Ultimate Playlist or Workout Playlist.

What I suggest is to invest in an iPod and a bluetooth speaker if you can invest in it and you think you can use it. (this is my speaker, it's amazing and perfect for indoors and outdoors: Kmart.com)

Then on your iPod create multiple playlists for your different mood. I have several playlists, Ultimate Playlist, Country, Country Party, Workout, Skrillex, etc Some of them are for different moods, and some of them are single artist that I listen to frequently.

[magical loser]

i cant concentrate with any noise, so id prefer silence. but since theres nearly always noise from upstairs/next door i have to use a white noise mp3 coz i can ignore that. anything else would be too distracting

Good ideas both, thank you. I have an iPod but it's mostly full of audiobooks or podcasts which I listen to on the train. I have a large CD collection, which I'm slowly moving over to iTunes, complicated by my also moving from PC to Mac. So they were all saved as FLAC files rather than Apple Lossless. Then I discovered I had to convert them to Wav or MP3 if I wanted to listen to them in my car. The days of just being able to switch something on and listen have long gone - there's so much choice now. My USB stick in my car is divided up into music types, I just hadn't thought of doing that for indoors. I'll move some songs from iTunes to my iPhone and start. Can you tell I'm kinda new to this?! (Old lady from England )

[x123]

I usually listen to music from the 1940s. Right now I'm listening to the Merry Macs. I also have Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman.

Often that kind of music does not have lyrics. I also listen to an opera CD ("Cecilia Bartoli"). That is the only opera that I have tried, but I like it. I agree that lyrics are distracting when you try to work and think.

[MuseumGhost]

I prefer silence, most of the time...but music (these days, it's vintage jazz) helps keep me carryin' on with dull tasks.

internet radio. (but stations without a dj).

stations that just play music and jingles

so eventually you just get on what with whatever it is, and not even notice that the station changed song or is playing a jingle (a few times i've not even noticed when it's gone offline!)

i used to try the tv, but that never worked for me.. if i want to watch tv, i need to pay full attention to it

I have either news on the TV or info/talk programming on the radio. I realize I really don't pay attention to it, rather it is simply background noise.

[Penni R Kade]

I can't handle silence, I have to have music or tv playing in the background.... always. I have partial hearing loss in one ear and it is a constant "white noise", so any sound is better than that. *Exception to that rule, NO repetitive nose, such as a ticking clock, metronome, etc...