It’s a great question. But the answer is dependent on what kind of work you’re doing and what sort of outcome you’re trying to achieve.

If you’re not concerned about getting into flow, you just need some music to uplift you and get you in a good mood then listen to your favorite stuff.

Just know that when you’re doing work that requires language processing (any sort of reading or writing), listening to music with lyrics will get in the way of that. Your brain will subconsciously be processing the lyrics and it’ll slow you down.

Getting into flow is a bit of a different story.

If you’re feeling a bit distracted, you may need to regulate your nervous system a little bit first. Do some short breathing exercises (try our 5 min breathwork) and consider listening to nature sounds with Noisli to regulate and calm your nerves.

To help you focus faster, put on some white, pink or brown noise with mynoise.net or even YouTube or Spotify.

If you’re feeling mentally prepared for the work, looking for flow, and need some beats to get you in a groove, look for instrumental tracks with strong rhythm like at brain.fm.

Get your headphones on and get to work.

Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.