Why you should listen to music while you write.

It isn’t as harmful as people say.

Disclaimer: I currently have my headphones on while writing this right now.

One trend I’ve been seeing throughout the writing community from very notable writers is not to write while listening to music.

Hmmmmmm….

I understand where that mindset comes from, but I don’t think it’s necessarily conducive to writing as people may think. While writing in complete silence may help you gather your thoughts more easily, it’s missing a few things that music gives you.

It’s more solitary than silence.

One thing I’ve noticed from writing with my headphones in is that my brain is in solitude a lot more than when I write in silence.

For me, writing in silence doesn’t help because my senses are at 100. I end up listening to the air conditioning, my notifications going off, and shit dropping on the floor rather than writing.

Once you pop your headphones in you’re less likely to hear any other outside activity in the room. You’re immersed in your own thoughts.

You’re only listening to the sound of the music. Focusing on one sound is better than focusing on nine at once.

It gives you more confidence.

One of the best things about listening to music while writing is the fact that the sounds you hear have the power to evoke a feeling of confidence.

Writing is hard.

It’s easy to feel unmotivated and bogged down. You’ll have long days where you wish you didn’t have to sit in front of your computer (trust me I’ve had plenty of those).

You can use music as a tool to give yourself that kick in the butt when you need to get writing done.

It puts you in a zone.

The music I listen to puts me in a certain head space.

How can you truly zone out in your writing if there’s no sound in your ear that takes you to a different world?

Whenever I listen to music, especially with my headphones and not out loud, it’s because I feel like I’m on a mountain alone. I’m in perfect isolation. You’re in a space that no one else can be in because you’re the only one that hears that sound.

Once you feel like you’re in a world of your own, it’s easier to allow yourself to write without thinking.

It increases the scope of your imagination.

I would’ve never came up with some of my blog post ideas if I wasn’t deeply into music.

Music has hidden messages inside that you can pull ideas from.

Some of the messages I’ve gotten from music make me think more out of the box and cause me to think of topics I would’ve never thought about.

For example, there are things I can pull out of a Beyonce song that cause me to go back to a certain time in my life when something happened to me. As I look back at that moment, I realize that would be a good ass topic to write about.

After all, artists are inspired by other artists.

Conclusion

Writing with your headphones in isn’t as bad as people may say.

There are countless writers that even turn off their phones completely to avoid distractions while writing. They just need complete silence because hearing anything else in the background isn’t conducive to their writing.

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s possible to write with background noise and even feed off of it sometimes.

Listening to music while you write actually gives you less distractions to worry about. You are more isolated from the outside world, making it easier for you to write in peace.

Whether or not you listen to music while writing is your choice. But if you’ve noticed you’re not happy with your writing environment, maybe headphones are a good idea.

It won’t be the end all be all of your writing. But listening to one special sound can put you in a space that’s much calmer than silent one.