Four top ways to use music

WHILE WORKING/ BLOCKING DISTRACTIONS

Listen to something upbeat and fairly predictable such as new-age dance music. Rufus Du Sol’s Take Me is appealing and you can attend to it without being swept away.

TO MOTIVATE A TEAM

Choose music that most people will like. Get a feel for the room. (Are) people going to like Matt Corby? His song Resolution is uplifting and a little bit inspirational. It depends on the crowd and type of people you are working with.

TO REDUCE ANXIETY ABOUT WORK

Try calm, meditative music that allows you to gain perspective – something uplifting with not much musical tension. It should not be overly energetic and should not be your favourite pop song with a catchy tune. Think beautiful songs like Gurrumul’s Child of the Rainbow and Guy Sebastian’s Standing with You.

BEFORE A JOB INTERVIEW

Play music that says something about your own values. It might be music you enjoyed when you were 14. It can be Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell or Neil Young or death metal, as long as it is empowering.

SOURCE:

Professor Bill Thompson, for SEEK and Spotify’s SEEK sleepmix, designed to ease the minds of career insomniacs. seeksleepmix.withspotify.com