It’s been proven that the right background noise can spur creativity and keep you motivated as well as increasing your focus. The new kid on the block, Noisli, is the perfect tool to help get you more productive in the comfort of your own home.
Noisli is a beautifully minimalist tool for generating background noise, with everything from rain, fire and wind to the familiar drone of a coffee shop to help you get working. It’s dead simple and is the most beautifully designed tool I’ve come across for the task. Over the last week, it’s helped me focus a lot more than normal when I’m writing at home alone.
You might not be aware of just how much more productive you can be in a small coffee shop or a fan on in the background.
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The New York times performed a study that found “a level of ambient noise typical of a bustling coffee shop or a television playing in a living room, about 70 decibels, enhanced performance compared with the relative quiet of 50 decibels.”
This only applies to creative work like writing, though, with the New York Times continuing;
The benefits of moderate noise, however, apply only to creative tasks. Projects that require paying close attention to detail, like proofreading a paper or doing your taxes, Dr. Mehta said, are performed better in quiet environments.
Other studies have correlated the same findings, with a one study finding that “those exposed to a moderate level of ambient noise significantly out-performed those in the other groups” and another that found “a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks” and even surprisingly increases the likelihood that you’ll buy “innovative products.”
Other apps, like Coffivity, also aim to reproduce the background noise of a coffee shop, although Coffivity’s focus is specifically on reproducing that environment, rather than a range of noise options like Noisli.
If you’re looking for an easy creative boost at home or in the office, give Noisli a try. It’s available on the web as well as providing an app for iOS so you can get background noise on the go.
Top Image Credit: Shutterstock
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