Monday, April 19, 2010

Usually It Works

I had read a long time ago some brain research that demonstrated subjects were able to focus longer and on increasingly more complex information while listening to Baroque period classical music than while not listening to music or even while listening to other types of music. It appears that the tempos in Baroque period music match certain brain waves, and that is how it helps to facilitate concentration.

I didn't spend the time to track down the original article I read, instead I did a search and found the first link that looked feasible. If I let myself, I could have spent all day finding a single link for this post. I'm trying not to procrastinate THAT much.

I use Pandora quite a bit while at work. At home I have Rhapsody, but at work I am unable to download it, so I use Pandora, since it is web-based. (Yes, Rhapsody has a web-based app, but some glitch keeps it from recognizing my stations even when I log in, and all the people in India that I have talked to in the last 4 years about it haven't been able to fix it. So there.)

I have a Baroque station on Pandora. So when I am seriously stressed out and unable to focus, or when I am seriously freaking out and unable to focus, or when I'm just spacing out and unable to focus, or just generally unable to focus (he he) then I put that station on as background music.

Usually, it helps. I have found that when I have it playing in the background, I am usually more efficient, and I am able to get started on stuff I put off, and keep working on tasks for longer.

This morning? No go. Mozart, and Handel, and all the Telemann trumpet concertos in the world can't save me. I've spent an hour reading mom blogs of women that I don't know, don't have much in common with (one has a cute little girl, tho, so we have that) and have no business reading in the middle of a Monday morning when I have a stack *this* high of other crap I need to do.

Maybe I should read some blog posts about procrastination. That might help me. Right?
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Added: I closed the blog window. But that meant the 43 folders window was the next up. And I clicked a link and read, where there was a link I wanted to read. So I ended up here. And its funny. NOW I'm quitting, tho. I promise.

I think.
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OMG it's a SICKNESS. I thought "I'll just make a to-do list. Then I'll see exactly what I need to work on and I can get started. I have a calendar on Google Calendar, I can go there and type in some to-dos and it will help me get started.

And I've spent another half an hour fiddling with the colors. And then I was going to put "music class" but I thought NO, I can make a calendar with my MommieV email, and merge them, and have a "work" calendar and a "MommieV" calendar, and then I can invite my mom and dad to be part of the Family calendar and ....

And I still HAVE NOT started grading the Monday class' lab exam. From last Monday. Last. Monday.
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3 comments:

Betsy said...

I should be writing an article right now on hybrid cars, and instead I'm reading blogs. It really is a sickness, I swear.

Betsy said...

I have left you something over on my blog!

Billy said...

Very interesting about the Baroque music!

I am such a procastinator :-) Hope you got round to grading those exams :-).