7 Sites To Help You Focus While Programming
Tunes To Help You Chill 🎵
There are a multitude of music websites and apps out there specifically designed to help you stay productive, relax your mind and help deal with anxiety.
We’re all different. Some of us work better with techno beats flooding our ears, whereas others work better in busy public places like coffee shops, where the sound of small-talk is soothing rather than a huge distraction.
I tend to concentrate better with a little background noise, but since I can also find myself getting distracted by office chit-chat, I went in search of sites to help me stay focused.
📌 Quick Note — A big thank you to those who commented, shared and loved our 8 Albums Developers Love Programming To post. It was amazing to watch the numbers grow and my Twitter blow-up. After seeing how much people were interacting in the comments, I thought it would be a worth doing a follow up with the best places to find chill-out sounds.
Noisli
noisli.com
Mix natural sounds to create the right mood
Noisli is one of my favourite sites for providing background sounds, and it’s free to use.
When you arrive the site asks if you are looking to increase productivity or relax. After making your choice, the page brings up a soundboard where you can pick and chose from various soundscapes and white noise options such as forest sounds, wind or the crackling of an open fire — you can adjust these levels to suit your mood.
If I feel a bit stressed, I’ll often opt to listen to a rain and thunderstorm mix.
Focus@Will
focusatwill.com
“Scientifically optimized music” to increase productivity”
Unlike Noisli, Focus@Will offers musical tracks to boost concentration and even explores the science behind their method of helping your productivity.
The player and accompanying app offer a variety of options for the listener, such as classical, acoustic and background noise.
Currently the only way to access the player is by signing up for an account. There’s an offer for a 15 day free trial before paid subscription options come in to play. Their most popular price plan will set you back just over $8 per month.
I would recommend downloading it if you’re looking to test the theory, and spend the 15 days testing whether the service will work for you.
Coffitivity
coffitivity.com
The ambient sounds of a café
This is perfect for those who work well in busy environments but find themselves distracted by conversation (that’s me).
Rather than supplying calming sounds, Coffitivity provides the user with three suitable tracks of gentle background noise in three similar locations for free, designed to get you through the working day.
Coffitivity also offers a premium package for $9 dollars a year that includes three extra tracks: Paris Paradise, Brazil Bistro and Texas Teahouse.
Moby
moby.com/la1
A new, free release from the electronica superstar
Electronica artist Moby recently released four hours of ambient music, dubbed LA1, free to download/stream.
Although originally designed to help improve sleep, the calming tones could help boost productivity and create a more relaxed environment.
The playlist is available to stream on Spotify.
musicForProgramming
musicforprogramming.net
Instrumental & sampled episodes present on a familiar layout
I had not heard of musicForProgramming until it was suggested in the comments of our 8 Albums post. Created by John Davies (@slakino), the site offers 40 different episodes of music to help with concentration whilst programming.
Rainy Mood
rainymood.com
The internet’s most popular “rain experience”
Rainy Moods plays a constant loop of rain, wind and thunder — something we Brits face day-in, day-out for the majority of the year. ☔️
This site also features a link to ‘Today’s Music’ which plays a YouTube video of the randomly chosen artist, to play along with the rain loop.
A Soft Murmur
“Ambient sounds to wash away distraction.”
Suggested in the comments by Thomas Marek.
A Soft Murmur hosts a collection of sounds including thunder, rain and wind but with the extra sounds of birds, crickets, white noise and singing bowl.
Although there is no app available for iPhone yet, it is accessible on Google Play.
I hope these sites prove useful, helping you get in the zone and stay productive. 💯
Are there any sites you would recommend using? Do you have a different approach to boosting your productivity?
Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @Zae_Johnson or email me directly — zae@cooperpress.com.
