I've noticed that music seems to help me focus while programming but makes long-form writing harder.
As usual, has already assembled a nice bibliography: gwern.net/Music-distract
Only one paper on writing (10m essays); finds a modest (-) effect: gwern.net/docs/music-dis
Conversation
Excited to look into this! My theory in the past has been that there are some activities where a mild distraction can be positive. For instance, if an activity gives you mild anxiety and you're plagued with self-doubt while writing, maybe a little distracting music could help.
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Right! One of the theories is that music’s impact is due to its effect on mood:
