Music and Studying: Do they go well together?

In the modern classroom, many students opt to listen to music while doing schoolwork. For example, I found myself listening to music while writing essays, studying for tests, or just completing homework. In this writing blog post, I will discuss the possible pros and cons of listening to music while studying. Although this may not apply to everyone, I still think a good amount of people would find this post helpful.

Listening to music requires a streaming platform, and this already opens the doors to many options. I would go with whichever platform you enjoy the most. The most popular by far is Spotify. The app has a wide variety of music choice, and curated playlists just for you. However, ads are pretty frequent (much more than the advertised one ad per 30 minutes). You can bypass this with Spotify Premium. For around 10 dollars a month, you get no ads, offline access, and more functions. Another popular streaming platform is YouTube Music, which has much less ads (in my experience) and even more song variety. Many artists have unreleased songs on YouTube Music but not Spotify. I find the app harder to navigate, but most of this is personal preference. Finally, there is Apple Music, which costs the same as Spotify Premium. There is no free option, but the paid version offers similar features to Spotify Premium, with downloadable songs, recommended playlists, and more. However, it is not very compatible with Windows and Android devices, while Spotify works on any device. I personally use Spotify, but any platform works.

When I listen to music while working, it is a way to combat boredom. It makes long study sessions more bearable, and tedious tasks become much more doable. Especially with online classes, like Consumer Ed, doing the coursework can get exhausting sometimes. Listening to music is a great way to avoid burnout while studying. 

However, music also has downsides. It depends on the type of music. To some, music is just another distraction. Although the length of study sessions can drastically increase, the quality can decrease pretty significantly. Sometimes, I find myself zoning out while listening to music, thinking about the music rather than the actual assignment. Usually, this doesn't become an issue. However, for tasks that require a large amount of focus, I tend to turn off the music to help my concentration.

Overall, it's all about personal preference; Some love music, others hate it while studying. Music and friends make studying much more fun, and can be the difference between not finishing and completing an assignment with time to spare. The time of day can also affect whether you listen to music while studying or not. I find that towards the end of the school day, my focus tends to drift and music is a good method of bringing my focus back to the present. However, in the morning, my mind is fresh and I tend to listen to music less. If you have never tried music while studying, I suggest trying it sometime. The benefits, in my opinion, greatly outweigh the downsides. 

- Bruce