Focus Music For Deep Work

For years I enforced the classic rule: “No headphones during math.” Then I discovered the research and my own classroom data, that proved the right music actually improves focus, especially for students with ADHD. So every lesson I design now comes with an optional focus track baked in. Why it works * Mid‑tempo, lyric‑free beats (≈ 60–70 BPM) help students lock into a rhythm of practice. * Minimal melodic changes keep cognitive load on the problem, not the song. * Subtle dynamic shifts reset attention every few minutes, so their minds don’t drift. What I see in class * Students settle into “flow” faster. * Background chatter drops as earbuds tune out distractions. * Practice sessions last longer without the usual fatigue. Every Quantitown lesson ships with an optional focus‑friendly soundtrack. Students click play, pop in earbuds and solve math in rhythm. Silence isn’t always golden — sometimes a steady beat is the secret ingredient to a math‑ready mind.

Remote work reality check: Noise is productivity's biggest enemy. After trying Loop Earplugs for a month, here's what changed for me: • Found focus in previously impossible environments (busy cafés, co-working spaces) • Maintained clear conversation during calls while filtering background noise • Reduced mental fatigue from constant noise processing • Completed deep work tasks without location limitations • Stayed present in meetings without environmental distractions The difference is subtle but significant - they filter rather than block completely, so you stay connected but protected from the chaos. For remote workers who value flexibility but need focus, these have been a simple but effective solution. What productivity tool has unexpectedly improved your remote work experience?

Stop fighting your body’s natural rhythm. Adopt chronoworking. Have you ever wondered why you feel sharp and creative at certain times of day but foggy and distracted at others? It’s because of your brain has a unique chronotype. Essentially, your personal body clock regulates your optimal times for focus, creativity, and recovery. I’ve been saying this for years - it doesn’t matter when you work, but rather the outcomes that you produce. This is the essence of "chronoworking" – aligning your schedule with your brain's natural rhythms, instead of forcing yourself to work at certain times or follow the arbitrary 9-5 schedule. By doing this one thing, you can dramatically enhance performance. Implement strategic time batching: - Reserve your peak cognitive hours (when your prefrontal cortex is most active) for complex analytical tasks requiring deep focus. - Save routine tasks for your "valley" periods when your brain needs less cognitive horsepower. - For maximum effectiveness, try habit stacking—link new productive behaviors to existing routines during your optimal performance windows. Forward-thinking companies are increasingly adopting flexible working styles. It’s my hope that it is only a matter of time before even more places accommodate different chronotypes. The payoff is substantial: reduced stress, higher creativity, lower burnout rates, and measurably better performance. What's your chronotype, are you a "lark" (morning person), "owl" (night person), or somewhere in between? Do you lean into it, or have to fight against it? #Chronoworking #Neuroscience #LinkedInNewsDACH #BrainScience

Head Down, Headphones On: Maximising Productivity with the Right Tunes 🎵 What’s your go-to music when you’re deep in the work zone? Lately, I've been experimenting with binaural beats. The concept is fascinating: by listening to these beats, brainwaves start to sync with the frequency of the sound. Different frequencies can help achieve various mental states: > Delta (1-4 Hz): Deep sleep and relaxation. > Theta (4-8 Hz): Light sleep, meditation, and creativity. > Alpha (8-14 Hz): Relaxation and reflection. > Beta (14-30 Hz): Active thinking, focus, and concentration. > Gamma (30-50 Hz): Higher mental activity, problem-solving, and peak focus. When I'm working, I often choose music that won't distract me: > Instrumental > Lo-fi > Easy jazz Matching your music to your task can make a huge difference: For creative tasks, upbeat and inspiring music can boost your mood and ideas. For analytical or detail-oriented work, something calm and consistent helps maintain focus. When tackling complex problem-solving or critical thinking, silence might be your best friend. Lyrics and intricate compositions can be distracting, especially when you're writing or reading. Music with vocals can interfere with your brain’s language processing, reducing productivity. What tunes keep you in the zone? Share your favourites and let's build the ultimate productivity playlist together! ...This morning is NIN

🎵 For individuals with ADHD, the brain can feel like a storm of racing thoughts, distractibility, and challenges with focus. Enter music, a tool that doesn’t just entertain but can transforms the ADHD experience. ADHD Brain and Music: People with ADHD often have difficulty regulating dopamine, a neurotransmitter crucial for focus and motivation. Listening to or playing music stimulates dopamine production, creating a sense of reward and satisfaction that can help maintain attention and boost mood. How Music Helps ADHD Individuals: 1. Improved Focus and Task Completion: Music, especially instrumental tracks or specific genres like lo-fi or classical, creates a rhythmic and structured environment. This helps block out distractions, allowing the ADHD brain to focus better on tasks. 2. Emotional Regulation: ADHD often comes with emotional highs and lows. Music acts as a mood stabilizer, helping individuals navigate intense feelings by soothing or energizing as needed. 3. Routine and Time Management: Songs can act as time markers. For example, using playlists to structure morning routines or tasks (e.g., "complete the chore before the song ends") can improve time awareness. 4. Stress Relief: ADHD brains often experience overstimulation, leading to stress. Music’s calming effect can slow racing thoughts and reduce anxiety, offering a mental breather. How to Use Music in ADHD: 1. Background Study Music: Low-tempo, repetitive music can enhance concentration during work or study sessions. 2. Learning Through Rhythm: For memorizing information, setting it to a tune or rhythm (like mnemonics) can help with retention. 3. Physical Activity: Fast-paced tracks can make exercise more engaging, improving physical and mental health. 4. Therapeutic Drumming: Drumming can help with impulse control and emotional expression while improving focus. Personalizing Playlist: While some may thrive on classical music, others might need rock or electronic beats. Experimenting to find what resonates with your brain is key. Music isn't just an aid for ADHD; it’s a lifeline that taps into the brain’s natural rhythms to foster calm, creativity, and clarity. Whether you’re an ADHD individual or a supporter, never underestimate the power of a good song to change the game. What are your favorite tracks or genres for focus and relaxation? Share below! Illustration credit: Mental Health Center Kids

Elite performance has a secret rhythm. Work-rest cycles beat constant hustle. I discovered this truth in Olympic training camps: ❌ The best athletes weren't the ones training longest ✅ They were the ones who mastered strategic recovery Now I teach this to overwhelmed teams. Here's the exact playbook to transform performance: 1. The 90/90 rule 🎯 ↳ Work in 90-min sprints ↳ Recover for 90 seconds after each sprint ↳ Never stack more than 4 sprints per day 2. The energy code 🧠 ↳ Color-code your calendar by energy cost ↳ Red: Creation (limit to 2 blocks/day) ↳ Yellow: Communication (max 3 hours/day) ↳ Green: Coordination (batch in 30-min blocks) 3. The signal switch ⚡ ↳ Turn notifications ON for 2 VIP contacts ↳ Everyone else gets batched responses ↳ Check messages only between sprints 4. The power hours 🔥 ↳ Find your natural energy peak (track 5 days) ↳ Reserve these hours for pure creation ↳ Defend them like board meetings 5. The recovery anchor💫 ↳ Pick one daily reset ritual (5-15 mins) ↳ Same time, same place, no exceptions ↳ Mine: Cappuccino at the window, phone off 6. The focus vault 🎪 ↳ Create your peak state triggers ↳ Example: Noise-canceling + mint tea + timer ↳ Use them only for important deep work Real results from a tech startup I advised: • Core features shipped 2 weeks early • Team creativity spiked in brainstorms • Zero resignations in 6 months Start here: 1. Pick your daily recovery anchor (5-15 mins) 2. Design your first 90/90 cycle tomorrow 3. Color-code next week's calendar 🌟 Remember: Rhythm beats random intensity every time. ⬇️ Share your recovery anchor below Help others build sustainable peak performance ♻️ Repost to protect your team from burnout 🔔 Follow Eva Gysling, OLY for more

Your next headphones read your brain while playing music Imagine a future where your #headphones don’t just play music, but actually listen to your brain. This new technology, by Neurable is on the horizon, using brainwave data to create personalized soundscapes that enhance focus or relaxation. The potential applications for mental health, neurotherapy, and productivity are endless. As we move toward more immersive, brain-connected tech, we’re beginning to see how deeply our devices could interact with our biology. This is an exciting step forward in brain-computer interfaces (#BCI). Through a collaboration with the audio brand Master & Dynamic, Neurable has built #electroencephalography electrodes into the headphones’ ear pads, with no implants required. Commonly known as an EEG, the 12-channel device aims to capture brainwave signals and offer its users data readouts on their focus levels. Aimed at the #wellness segment, the companies claim the approach could help manage #burnout, by sending an alert to a connected smartphone app when a person’s focus begins to wander and then prompting them to take a short break from work. Interesting to see this domain of #neurotechnology develop. Check out this read by Conor Hale for Fierce Biotech: https://lnkd.in/eq2af8FK #wearables #music #headset #prevention

I view the $11 I spend on Spotify for music every month as an investment in my health. And mostly my mental health at that. ——— From brown noise when it’s too loud and I can’t sleep or focus to low fi beats when I’m stressed to house music when I need a mood boost… Music has rarely if ever failed to shift my state in the right direction. ——— Walking with music on remains my go-to way to reliably get out of a funk. And I genuinely can’t remember a time it didn’t work. ——— It turns out there’s a lot of science to back up the mental and physical health benefits of music. Listening to music has been shown through peer reviewed research to → 1️⃣ Reduce anxiety, serum cortisol levels, blood pressure, perception of pain, and depressive symptoms 2️⃣ Temporarily improve cognition, executive function (ability to solve complex problems), and attention 3️⃣ Regulate your autonomic nervous system, especially when one branch is over dominating (fight or flight vs. rest and digest) 4️⃣ Improve memory, recall, satiation at meal time, and blood flow to and from the heart 5️⃣ Boost physical performance, endurance, and motivation 6️⃣ Help regulate emotions, mood, and energy levels 7️⃣ Bridge social connection and cohesion ——— That’s pretty impressive for something with a fairly low barrier to entry. If you have internet access, you can find music for free through YouTube. ——— Or you can spend the $10-12 a month on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, etc. Which is one of the most powerful investments in your health you can make IMO. ——— The ROI on music as part of your everyday life is undeniable. My world would be a whole lot less colorful without it, that’s for sure. ——— I’ve made it my default to turn on a playlist whenever I feel myself entering a state of → Heightened stress or overwhelm → Low energy → Or negative mood to help shift me out of it. ——— Sometimes it takes me a bit to get there and remember I have that option at my disposal… But once I’m there, it’s like entering a whole new state of existence. ——— Shoutout to Spotify (and music in general) for relieving so many of my stressed out and moody bouts. I really owe you one. #music #mentalhealth #healthandwellness

I’ve been using the Pomodoro method for the past 2 years. And no, it’s not some fancy productivity hack. It’s just a simple rhythm: → 25 minutes of work → 5 minutes of rest Repeat. But don’t let the simplicity fool you, it works. For me (and millions of others), it strikes the perfect balance between deep focus and just enough rest to keep momentum going. Where it really shines? Creative work. 🧠 When I’m writing video scripts, brainstorming hooks, or working on script angles… Those 5-minute breaks aren’t just breaks, they’re where half the ideas show up. It’s like my brain does a hard reset. Then boom! a fresh angle, a punchier hook, or a better line suddenly clicks. But if you want the Pomodoro system to actually work, keep this in mind: ✔️ Don’t waste your breaks on social media, go for a walk, stretch, breathe, move ✔️ Stick to the 5-minute rule, no more, no less ✔️ Set goals for each session, I track # of Pomodoros AM vs PM ✔️ Put on good music, your brain will thank you ✔️ Always keep a notepad nearby, post-break ideas hit hard It’s not complicated. But it’s powerful, especially when your work demands clarity and creativity. Happy Pomodoros. 🍅 Let me know if you use it too, or if there’s a method that works even better for you.

Building a startup is a mental game as much as a business one. After my first startup exit, I was burnt out and my mental health needed rebuilding. I have learnt a lot since then and have many proactive and intervention strategies I use to stay on top of my mental health.   The pressure, crazy long hours, and constant problem-solving can take a toll, often in silence, where you don’t see it coming, but what if something as simple as music could help? Music can be the mental edge we all need. With a deep background in music strategy and audio branding, I’ve seen firsthand how it can sharpen focus, reduce stress, and even improve decision-making. Sound processing is part of our genetic code, it impacts every human in profound ways, we process it faster than sight, we use it in therapy, and it’s proven to enhance mood, regulate emotions, and boost cognitive performance. Next time you need to get in the zone... try putting on some music and see the benefits. My music tastes are so broad, anything from rock, dance, metal, and symphonies, but they all help me. THE UPSIDE… 1) Enhance Mood – Upbeat music lifts energy; calm music eases stress. 2) Facilitate Focus – Helps you reach deep work faster. 3) Boost Performance – Instrumental music can improve cognitive function. 4) Enhance Motivation – Your favorite tracks drive engagement. 5) Increase Enjoyment – Even the most repetitive tasks feel lighter. Music is just one tool in the mental resilience toolkit. In Ep#5 of the Startups Decoded Podcast, I sat with Rachel Hamlin to explore how founders can protect their mental health, avoid burnout, and sharpen their focus. She shares why success doesn’t always bring fulfillment, how stress and self-doubt can sabotage leadership, and, most importantly, practical ways to scale without sacrificing yourself. Just like music can shift your mindset, the right habits and strategies can help you build a business and take care of yourself. Tune in now to learn how to strengthen your mental game and lead with clarity.