I’ve long proclaimed I’m a music junkie. Through school age, music was everywhere. Through college, I couldn’t study without music by my side. When I opened the doors of my office over three years ago the only sounds you could hear were coming from Air’s ‘Talkie Walkie“>Talkie Walkie‘ album which saw me through my first two client products.

Of course, musical choice will be dictated by the type of project I’m working on and the time of day or night I’m working on it.

Day time music I tend to jump anywhere from Air to Bruce Springsteen to Newton Faulkner to The Killers. One of my favourite night time pieces of listening for those coding and design projects that take you into the wee hours would be the soundtrack to The Animatrix movie, a great collection of downtempo and off-kilter dance tracks. I’m also known to dabble in a little Yann Tiersen or Michael Giacchino

I’ve worked in places where the only thing to listen to was the local radio or the nagging afternoon agony aunt. Another perk of working for yourself, minor as it may seem, is being able to dictate the music on offer, especially if it such a vital part of your day.

The musician in me also keeps a guitar near my workspace. When Winamp, iTunes or Last.fm just aren’t doing the trick or I’ve hit a rut, I’ll use a guitar to work out kinks in a project. I’ll often take five minutes out to play through a tune, think over the current obstacle and return with a music-based solution.

I know well that music boosts my productivity. I get more done. I can manage more tasks. I’m more at ease with my day. I’m less likely to get bogged down in a project as the music “keeps me going”. How about you?

Popularity: 20% [?]