Want to Get in the FLOW of THINKS?

Want to get in the FLOW of THINKS? Start playing harmonious music in the background.

Particularly the uplifting Brandenburg Concerts or soothing instrumentals from George Winston, Joe Pass, or Tommy Emmanuel.

Melodious music has been shown to have a harmonic rhythm which resonates with our heartbeat, aligns our attention, and facilitates flow and focus.

That's not just my opinion, My friend Paul Pearsall, Ph.D. wrote a book on the many benefits of music. In?The Beethoven Factor,?he shared a variety of studies that prove people who listen to music at a level just below hearing, learn faster, score better on tests, and remember more of what they're studying or working on.

One of the most important insights I've discovered in thirty years of writing and speaking about how to ConZentrate and focus on what really matters, is that music is an overlooked and under-appreciated shortcut to getting in the FLOW of THINKS.

Music has the word muse in it for a reason.

Music fast-forwards that immersive state where we're one with what we're doing.

It's why I always play music when I write.?What I've found is that music - played low enough so I'm not humming or singing along - sets up a cocoon of concentration.

Music kick-starts my creativity. I jump on its bandwagon of rhythm, because writing is all about getting a rhythm where the words are flowing so fast your fingers can hardly keep up.

So, how about you? Want to kick-start your creativity or be maximally productive??

Find your flow by finding music that builds a baseline of sound so you are no longer distracted by noise clutter or, what Simon and Garfunkel called, "The Sounds of Silence."

If you're around people or working in your Third Place (a public place where you can work in private, e.g., a local coffee shop, library or place near water), use ear buds so you're encased in "surround sound" and can enter that immersive state.

You'll know you've tapped into the muse when you "come to" after hours of work and realize you've been so caught up in what you're doing, you weren't even aware of the passage of time.

That state of complete absorption is a hallmark of flow. And flow is a state of peak performance and optimal productivity where you're 100% focused on the task at hand.

If you know me, you know I love quotes.

Here are some quotes from some of our greatest philosophers about the power and gift of music to achieve a transcendent state of optimal creativity and productively.

“Music can name the un-nameable and communicate the unknowable.” –?Leonard Bernstein

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu

“Do it again on the next verse and people think you meant it.” – Chet Atkins

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.” –?Duke Ellington

“Where words leave off, music begins.” – Heinrich Heine

“I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.” – William James

“If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.” –?Charlie Parker

“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.” – Maya Angelou

“As long as we live, there is never enough singing.” – Martin Luther

“Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering.” – Haruki Murakami

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” – Confucius

And to wrap up this tribute to the miracles of music, Plato said, "Music gives wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”

If you want to give wings to your mind, flight to your imagination, and life to your work, play music in the background today and go with the FLOW.

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Sam Horn is the Founder/CEO of The Intrigue Agency. Her 3 TEDx talks and 9?books ?- including Wash Post bestseller Got Your Attention? and ConZentrate (which received a cover endorsement from Dr. Stephen Covey, was featured on NPR, and taught to NASA.)