Work + Music = Good! Whether you work in the harsh silence of a private office, or with the noisy chatter of co-workers, music is a great way to make work a bit more fun. Personally, music boosts my productivity, and allows me to feel like I am in control by establishing the character of the environment in which I choose to work. Depending on what mood I’m in and on the music that I am playing, music pumps me up to do work that is inspired, or relaxes me by easing much of the stress I’m going through.

I’m not the only one that feels this way. A study done with 256 office workers at the University of Illinois found that listening to music of their own choice releases stress, drowns out distracting office chatter, improves mood, and significantly enhances office performance.

But what can be distracting is sifting through your music to make a playlist that is appropriate for work. That’s why I worked quietly until I stumbled across Pandora.com. Pandora is a website that is basically like internet radio that is styled after your taste. You choose a song title or artist, and it plays music that is similar. You have the opportunity then to reject, approve, or simply listen to their choices, teaching the site what you do and don’t like to listen to.

So next time you’re at work, check out Pandora.com. Put in “Jim Brickman” for some soft piano music, or “Hans Zimmer” for music that will pump you up. Can you imagine Rocky without the Rocky theme song? He’d never be able to run up and down all those steps!

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