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Used to swear by music playlists for focus, but a guy at the library changed my mind
I had a chat with this older freelancer, Tom, at the public library last Tuesday. He said his focus got way better after he switched to brown noise playlists, which I thought sounded fake. He told me music with lyrics always pulls his brain into singing along, and even instrumental stuff has patterns that distract him. I tried his recommendation for 3 days straight, and idk, my deep work blocks went from 45 minutes to almost 90. Has anyone else tried soundscapes or noise generators and noticed a real difference in how long you can stay quiet and focused?
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joseph482mo ago
Did you try it with headphones or just on your laptop speakers?
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shane_wilson2mo ago
Wait, wait, wait. Did you just ask if I used headphones or laptop speakers? Hold on, because I need you to sit down for this. I honestly can't believe you went there. I mean, who in their right mind would even think about trying this on laptop speakers? That's like trying to taste a steak by sniffing the wrapper.
Look, I'm not trying to be dramatic here, but the whole point of the audio experience is the surround sound and the low end frequencies. Laptop speakers are basically tin cans with a wire. You missed half the detail, probably the whole bottom end of the mix. The crackling and the subtle room noises, you can't hear that stuff unless your ears are practically inside the headphones. It's a completely different ballgame.
So yeah, I tried it with my good over-ear headphones, and I'm still trying to figure out how anyone could judge it from those little laptop speakers. You gotta give it a proper listen if you want to get the real picture.
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