Let’s face it. Nowadays, it’s hard to work for a long time unless there’s some form of entertainment going on in the background. And most often than not, we listen to music to entertain ourselves. And ‘things to do while listening to music that’s precisely what today’s article is all about.
From merely walking to cleaning to cooking, we cannot function unless there’s some great music to set the mood. Even while taking a relaxing afternoon bath or going off to sleep. Nice music is always a prerequisite in keeping all the negative thoughts and feelings away.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can blast on the radio at full volume whenever you want. For instance – you wouldn’t want to listen to some hardcore rap in some family prayer gathering, would you now? Exactly. There’s a time and place for everything.
So, let’s stick to some of the more acceptable things to do while listening to some great music.
Top 10 Things To Do While Listening To Music
Here’s a brief overview of the top 10 things to do while listening to music. Needless to say, while you’re doing something, you can listen to whatever makes you feel happy and energetic.
[However, for the article’s sake, we will attempt to include some specific genres of music in each of the tasks. And this inclusion is fully based on how we feel it will help to enhance the experience. It’s only a few harmless recommendations and not obligatory commandments.]
What to do while listening to music?
- Study
- Exercise
- Sweep
- Cook
- Work
- Play Games
- Paint
- Do A Little Gardening
- Dance
- Go For A Long-Drive
1. Study
If you had strict parents growing up, you probably can’t relate music to study as much. Because apparently according to them, music takes away your attention from all the studying going on.
Also, ahem, the author of this article definitely isn’t speaking from their experience, okay?
Nevertheless, you can rest assured that the whole music ruining study sessions analogy is completely baseless. In fact, recent studies suggest that listening to music while studying is actually a pretty good practice.
Not only can a soft playlist help to calm you down, but it can also affect your attention. In a good way, of course. Not the all-so-malicious way your parents warned you about.
Melodious tunes or sounds tend to relieve all our tensions temporarily. As a result, you feel more at peace and can put your mind to the lessons more effectively.
Again, you can find several customized playlists on YouTube as well just for studying. Playlists like these tend to focus on white noise to increase your brainpower. So, calming down isn’t the only benefit you’ll get from listening to some soft and lo-fi music while studying.
The problem begins when you start to listen to a really strong melody. Just as soft music can calm you down, heavy metal or rock music can do the exact opposite. Well, not surprising as these genres practically exist to make everyone’s heart pump through the roof.
And that kind of grooviness isn’t exactly what you want when you’re trying to focus on some algebra. Especially, people with even mild ADHD can easily get disoriented and start to focus on the music instead.
Not just rock music, this problem persists with songs with multiple vocals as well. Or, something that has really deep lyrics or something. You can get so focused on the lyrics that you forget all about the actual studying.
Again, many students can get past this. In fact, they can actually benefit from it. They can just keep all the music as background noise and keep on studying efficiently. Just as how we keep the TV on even while scrolling through the phone just so it isn’t completely silent.
All in all, it literally depends on you what you can or can’t withstand. If soft and lo-fi music works the best for you, then that’s the ideal way to go. But if you like grooving to heavy metal, then that’s certainly an acceptable way to approach the study sessions too.
2. Exercise
Nothing like some good music to hype you all up while exercising, amirite? You gotta do all you can to motivate yourself to finish that last set of push-ups, after all.
And the louder the music, the better. Soft and melodious music usually doesn’t get to claim the stage while doing heavy exercises. You need something that can make your blood boil. As in, something that can pump you all up so that you can keep on working out.
And that’s why exercising is at the top when it comes to things to do while listening to music. Whether you’re at a gym or doing some push-ups in the bedroom, you need great music to accompany the workouts.
Speaking of gyms, did you know that gyms need to invest in a sound system before anything else? You’re wrong if you think that they prioritize the exercising equipment when they’re setting up the gym.
Nope, it’s actually the atmosphere they need to focus on first of all. Without a proper hyped-up atmosphere with great music, what’s even the point of a gym? Think about it. Without music, it’s just a bunch of people sweating and grunting all around. Yikes!
And that’s precisely why gym owners spend so much behind state-of-the-art sound systems. And that’s also why you never find a gym without a loud and energetic playlist going on in the background.
The concept stays true for home gyms as well. Putting on the headphones and working out to your favorite playlist sounds like heaven to so many people. And what’s more, is that you get to choose the playlist while you’re at home.
So, if you don’t like the music at the local gym, you don’t have to tolerate it. Just bring your own set of playlists and exercise according to that. You won’t even realize that you’ve been working out for hours with a good jam going on in the background.
3. Sweep
You’re most definitely lying if you’ve never listened to music while sweeping the floors. What are you, a caveman? Actually, no. Even cavemen most probably used to hum while cleaning. After all, there’s no better way to compose yourself for such ‘arduous’ tasks.
The whole point of music is to bring some entertainment back into your plain old life. That’s why people love to listen to them and play along. And while you’re doing that, even the most minimal tasks start to seem pretty important and fun. Like sweeping!
For instance – so many love to sing along as they are sweeping along the corridor or the balcony. It’s like they are in a Cinderella novella, living the life they could not dream of in real life.
It’s all play-pretend that’s true, but it’s also pretty fun. Like, who doesn’t want some little birdies and mice to help them with all the dirt? As if the singing would somehow bring them to life like the magical lore.
Although, people would probably get scared if that ended up happening in real life. But, as mentioned above, it’s still fun to imagine.
Again, many people love to dance as they listen to their favorite music. They think of the broom as their prince charming and swirl it around in tunes of a ballroom saga. Real or not, the amount of serotonin that gives makes the sweeping sessions well worth the effort.
And of course, some just put some music on to get rid of the loneliness. That’s why it’s much easier to sweep the entire house when you’re listening to some great music. You can end up experiencing some nostalgia that way, as well.
4. Cook
The same nostalgia concept applies to cooking too! Eh, it’s probably just all household chores at this point. Everything’s suddenly much better when you have some amazing music to relate it to.
Especially during cooking up a meal for the family. Or, friends. Or, just for yourself if you live alone. Maybe you can go without listening to music when you’re cooking with a bunch of people. You can pass the time gossiping and bringing up random topics to laugh about.
But what about when you’re alone? What do you have but the awkward sizzling noises from time to time if there’s no music? At least, with some favorite songs, you can hum along with the lyrics and feel like a MasterChef apprentice.
Plus, it will help you to calm down as well. You will feel less flustered over time. And with that, you’ll start making fewer and fewer mistakes. However, if you get too involved, there’s no saying whether you’ll mix up the sugar and salt. So, might wanna keep an eye out for that too.
5. Work
This one’s a bit of a doozy. Several people bring up ethical issues as well. According to them, work shouldn’t top the list of things to do while listening to music at all. And why so, you ask? Because they think it’s inappropriate to get involved with music during ‘company time’.
Well, lucky for them, there’s not as much company time going on anyway due to all the pandemic frenzy. So, blast on the favorite songs all you want while finishing those monotonous projects.
Just make sure to check whether the sound is on or not during the zoom office meetings. It’s pretty cool that you still like Paramore as a full-grown adult. But the office peeps don’t have to know that, do they now?
Jokes apart, listening to nice music can increase your productivity alongside boosting your serotonin. In fact, multiple modern-day office spaces even encourage music as a form of recreational activity.
And they’re right to do so. It’s much more serene if there’s some great music going on in the background to apply the calming effect. That way, you can take your mind off of the hustle and bustle of office life. By doing so, you can focus fully on the work instead.
6. Play Games
No game out there would become as successful if they didn’t come with such banging OSTs Come on. Can you remember one such game that you didn’t instantly fall in love with after listening to its music?
You can’t, can you now? Great music and great games practically go hand in hand. Whether you’re just exploring or fighting against great villains, you need appropriate music to pump yourself up.
Take Genshin Impact for example. They really took over the whole gaming arena in recent times due to their amazing AI and music taste.
Just how the OST for Mondstadt reminds you of the freedom within, Liyue reminds you of its rich heritage. On top of that, Inazuma just came out! When you’re walking in Inazuma city beneath the Sacred Shrine, don’t you just love the idle music playing around?
The composition is nothing short of absolute brilliance. Behind the seemingly calming sakura tunes, it doesn’t fail to give off the sinister vibes as well. The whole OST is like the calm before the storm. As if, the city is on the verge of a never-ending war.
Well, it is. But that’s a spoiler, so shh! The point is that – playtime is incomplete without good music to accompany you. Even if it’s just for playing Mrs. Pac-Man in your basement. With great battle music going on in the back, even that can feel like a major gameplay moment.
7. Paint
Next up on the list for things to do while listening to music, comes painting! Now, not everyone here has an affiliation for painting as they feel like they aren’t great at it.
But let’s face it. The real reason is that painting materials just costs way too much. Can relate, yeah. You shouldn’t let that stop you, though. Even if you can’t get the really expensive ones, you can start by using the average materials.
They aren’t half bad and you’ll probably end up wasting them anyway while trying to learn. So, best to trial and error on the cheap ones rather than the pricey ones, right?
And as for why you should never give up on your dream of becoming a successful painter? Because it’s a great stress reliever. Especially with some equally amazing music. And it helps with passing the time.
Now you may not end up becoming Da Vinci, but you’ll at least have some fun while painting. You can hang them up and decorate your room too later on if you’d like to!
They will act as a constant reminder that you had the patience to accomplish something so beautiful. And they will remind you of the nice alone time you had while painting that masterpiece.
Just imagine – it’s a lonely autumn evening and you don’t feel like doing anything productive. So, you decide to put on a nice playlist and play around with the colors for a while. By the time you’ve completed the painting, you won’t even realize that you’ve spent hours over it.
Now, doesn’t that sound like something you’d really enjoy doing? Precisely. No more dilly-dallying any further. Take a break and finally spend some time painting. While you’re at it, make yourself a nice playlist too – full of pretty little instrumentals and joyous songs.
8. Do A Little Gardening
Many people out there see gardening as just a hobby, but for some, it’s more than that. Not just more, it’s a lot more for them. They are no less than the fur babies or birds some people love to keep. And only a true plant connoisseur would know that feeling in all its glory.
Even as a simple hobby, gardening comes with many responsibilities. It’s not just about providing enough water and sunlight for house plants. You gotta treat them like you would with actual babies or pets. If you want to see them grow all big and healthy, that is.
And believe it or not, music plays a really big role in achieving that. Shocking, but true. Multiple studies nowadays have concurred that specific music can directly influence the growth of a plant. Just like babies!
Speaking of which, did you know babies can recognize and respond to certain melodies even inside the womb? Yep. That’s why elderly people advise women to always listen to nice and melodious music when they’re pregnant.
They seem to think it will make the baby ‘more gentle’. Well, that part is more of a myth, if you ask us. But harmonious music indeed helps in developing a baby. But mostly because it ensures a calming environment for the mum.
And that’s also why people tend to stay away from aggravating music when they’re pregnant. Not because of their nature but because of how they can rouse the mind all up in excitement. It kind of contradicts the whole ‘hospitable environment’ for the babies.
Other than that, there are seemingly no other implications. The same stands true for plants as well. Alongside sunlight and insecticides, melodious tunes can influence them to grow more healthily.
It may not have much of a lasting effect but the whole idea seems pretty neat, nonetheless. So, if you love your plants, you can definitely try putting on some nice music for them. While taking care of the plants, the music will help you to feel much better as well.
9. Dance
When you think about things to do while listening to music, you certainly cannot skip dancing. Music and dance – what joy do we have in life without these two?
Think about it. Every time we express joy in any form, we always revert back to these two one way or the other. Every time we get good news, we instantly do a little dance to celebrate. Especially when we are alone and no one can see us being all crazy, that is.
But hey, we do it publicly too! Marriages, for instance. Whether it’s a South Indian marriage or a posh European one, it’s not a marriage without music and dance programs. And understandably so. What better way than these to start a whole new life?
And not just marriage events. You can dance to your favorite songs whenever you’d like and however you’d like. You don’t even have to be good at it. You can do it just to celebrate or just to feel some essence of true freedom.
Especially when you’re depressed or just really really sad. You’ll find that there’s no greater medicine than putting on some good music and dancing alongside. It will lift your mood right up! Even more so if you get to do with your best friends, partner, or anyone else.
Like who here hasn’t tried dancing in ballroom style to the Cinderella theme to feel like a princess? These little dances bring our long-lost dreams back to life even for a little while. So, how can you just simply listen to something and not end up grooving to it all the while?
However, you should exercise some caution while exercising this fantasy. Just like how you can’t start dancing anywhere you’d like. Traffic jams, for instance. That might cause quite the catastrophe, actually. Unless it’s a pre-planned flash mob, of course. Go full crazy then.
And you shouldn’t wear your headphones either while you’re trying to dance alongside. They will lower down your inhibition and may cause several injuries. Even when you’re dancing, you cannot let your guard down.
Always keep an eye out for your surrounding beds, tables, furniture, etc. to avoid any accidents. These precautions may seem pretty trivial, but they are also pretty important. Just because you’re enjoying something doesn’t mean you have to bring down all your barriers.
10. Go For A Long-Drive
Have you ever heard a song that felt like it was just made for a late-night long drive? You know the feeling, don’t you?! We all do bud, don’t you dare lie. Some songs out there truly capture the essence of a long-drive journey.
It’s one of the many amazing beauties of songs and tunes, I guess. Just like how some songs represent the rage you’re feeling and others represent the joy and happiness within you.
Similarly, you’ll find so many songs out there that resonate with a specific feeling of yours. And the same goes for these long drives as well. Take the song Apocalypse from CAS for example. It’s literally the most perfect track for a late-night long drive by the ocean.
Can’t explain how but it somehow captures all the feelings you feel while going on a drive like this. The bitter loneliness mixed with the refreshing ocean breeze – it’s like a perfect combination of both. Music is pretty amazing in bringing out emotions like that, isn’t it?
And it’s only one of such songs. There are countless more like these. Also, you’re wrong that just because it’s a late-night long drive, it somehow resonates with depressive songs only. Nope! Depending on your mood, you can go for any song that you like.
Again, for daytime songs, you can jam to any popular pop song. Especially if you’re with a bunch of best friends going on a tour. When everyone’s busy guessing the lyrics, how can you have a dull moment in hours of driving?
Country songs fit in perfectly with tours like these. If you’re driving down the old Virginia and not singing along to John Denver, what’s even the point? You can’t live life but not experience it to the fullest.
Take advantage of every opportunity you get to just burst into songs like these. That’s what life’s all about. And that’s how music truly inspires and enriches your life.
So, what are you waiting for? Prepare the playlist and go drive down the coast right away with your loved ones. Life’s not waiting for anyone. You gotta get all the memories you can get right before it slips away from your hands.
Benefits Of Listening To Music
Well, so far you have found lots of things to do while listening to music. And now, it’s time to find out about some benefits of listening to music while doing something.
Relief From Anxiety & Stress
Certain music can trigger the neurochemical receptors and provide you relief from anxiety and stress. By using tons of white noise, they kind of trigger the receptors to reduce the biochemical stress agents.
You’ll find tons of playlists like these over on both Spotify and YouTube. Even if it’s just temporary, they do work pretty well for the time being. So, listening to such music can actually help you out a lot if you’re stressed out about something.
Helps With Blood Circulation
Remember how the right music can jumpstart your heart right back up when you’re sad? They can really get your heart going if you’re feeling like it. Especially if you’re dancing alongside the music. You end up sweating a lot too and that’s a different kind of exercise right there.
But even without the dancing, energetic music actually helps with blood circulation by speeding up the process. In addition to fast circulation, it can actively reduce your heart rate and lower your blood pressure.
And that’s how it helps you to calm down as well. You feel more in control and can make better decisions like this. That’s why so many people prefer to hum their favorite songs whenever they’re nervous about something.
Boosts Serotonin Level
You know about serotonin, right? It’s the all-mighty hormone that everyone wants but rarely ever gets to experience. And as you grow up, all the adult responsibilities take away your serotonin even more.
Well, it’s a good thing then that you can use music to boost the serotonin levels for a little while. Actually, that’s what today’s article has been all about. You can’t really escape from all the harsh realities of life.
But if you manage to incorporate some great music along the way, it can make your journey a lot easier. And not just for the dramatic effect either. Melodious tunes and songs can boost both your serotonin and endorphin levels. And that’s been scientifically proven.
Serotonin and endorphin are the two key hormones that work behind all the happiness that you can perceive. And good music can elevate the intensity of both these hormones.
In addition, they can lower down cortisol levels as well. Cortisol, commonly known as stress hormones, results in all the bad and negative thoughts that you cannot get over. So, if you want to feel happy, a nice dose of music is all the medicine that you need.
Conclusion
So, did this article help you to find some of the things to do while listening to music? We sure do hope so! Just don’t go in too deep while listening to music while working, okay? Always keep an eye out for your surroundings to avoid any unwanted interaction or accidents.
Other than that, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything else. Simply put on your favorite playlist and march on with your tasks. Needless to say, with proper music, even something as simple as washing the dishes can feel like a legendary accomplishment.
