Through force of habit, a particular set of Goo Goo Dolls albums has become my paper-writing music. It was by chance at first: tunes I was familiar with and could mostly ignore while working on a final draft freshman year. I happened to listen to those couple albums on repeat for a good six or seven hours. I was fairly productive.

Later that year, utterly unfocused and unproductively poking at another paper, feeling entirely unmotivated to synthesize information and string useful arguments out of the sets of research articles I had collected, I remembered that music. I decided to give it a try — perhaps, I thought, if I gave myself the right soundtrack, I’d get something done. (I was running out of other homework to do, anyway.) And hey. It worked.

I continue to pick the same albums when it comes time to resolutely sit down and pound out pages of words. I have to wonder how much is a placebo effect: I think the songs will help focus my attention on writing a good paper, so I listen to the songs and focus better. (Perhaps I shouldn’t think about that too much just in case the effect disappears when I do.) Do recall what I’ve said previously about the importance expectations!

Perhaps I could, if I tried, decide that “okay, now it’s work-on-paper time” and then crack down and work. But the motivational kick from the music — “this is working music, so if I’m listening to it, I should be working” — keeps me going.

Given that I’m certainly motivated to keep my productivity-enhancing paper-writing albums solidly in the category of music that’ll make my homework happen, perhaps I don’t need to worry about the effect slipping. Part of my productivity may be a result of not wanting to prove that it’s mostly a placebo!

And a question for you

Do you have similar soundtracks? Particular songs you use for warm-ups before a sports game, albums for homework, tracks you save for the last sprint at the gym? I’m curious, so do share.

Habits are hard to break

Right now, I have no blue bin in which to pile my cardboard, glass bottles, and tin cans. Checkout clerks look puzzled when I say, “I brought my own bags.” My apartment complex advertises its own convenient trash compactor.

It wasn’t until I was faced with a lack of “Be Green!” signs and a deficiency of bins for recyclables inseparably paired with every trash can in sight that I realized just how ingrained in me this behavior is. Yes, that’s right, I am trained to recycle.

I’m okay with that. I like recycling. It leads me to wonder, though, what other behaviors I’ve picked up without consciously deciding to do so–I’m sure there are plenty of them. Which won’t I notice until some outside event disrupts my pattern of behavior? Which habits are good habits; which exist as conventions simply because nobody has bothered to change them?

Regardless, I’ll take my five-cent discount for each reusable shopping bag, thanks.