I have a problem, in that my head is sometimes like a broken iPod player. When I'm supposed to concentrate on a job, or simply try and shut my mind down to go to sleep, a song will pop into my head. Sometimes it will be some random song I haven't heard for ages, and suddenly the melody will keep repeating in my head. Even trying to sing the melody out loud doesn't usually work for me. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Tell me more
×
Personal Productivity Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for
people wanting to improve their personal productivity. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
|
There is a website called Unhear it which uses the latest reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification technology. Some people get a song out of their head by listening to this Private Dancer The best way is to occupy yourself in doing some thing like solving math problems. If you are busy enough, you will definitely forget that song!! |
|||||
|
|
There's only one way known to men to get a song out of one's head. Replace it with an even worse one. So try to find your personal song-buster. That'd be a song that's more annoying than most, but you actually enjoy and you have already gotten so used to it, it's just background noise. So you can concentrate on the job even with it on. Whenever a earworm squirms in, song-buster saves the day. |
|||||||||
|
|
This may sound a bit crazy, but whenever that happens to me it usually means my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Over the years I've noticed that if a song suddenly pops into my head for no discernible reason -i.e. not because I heard it on the radio that morning- I better pay attention to the lyrics. More often than not, the song describes my current emotional state or provides the answer to a dilemma I've been pondering. Cognitive bias, coincidence? I don't know, probably, but it's a cool little brain quirk. I wonder if research has been done on the subject. |
|||
|
|
|
That is a tricky thing to do. Sounds like you might want to try some meditation techniques to clear your mind and to help you focus. This is not to be done when you actually need to focus on work but rather a daily exercise to help your mind get better at focusing. Good luck! There's also a white/pink/brown noise generator site called SimplyNoise. You might want to use that while you meditate...and then when you need to focus on work, you can play it to help you achieve singular focus on the present task at hand. |
|||||
|
|
The most effective method I know of is to imagine that Bob Dylan is singing the song (even if it isn't one of his). That always works for me. But more seriously, does the song in your head actually actually prevent you from functioning? Other than a brief moment of "I haven't thought of that song in ages" how negative is the impact of having your own personal sound track. I wonder if the problem is more the fact that you are fretting about having a song stuck in your head and how it might impact your productivity. As Mary Poppins said: In evry job that must be done There is an element of fun You find the fun and snap! The job's a game Or if you prefer, the Seven Dwarves might have said it best. |
|||
|
|
Your brain is too active. Do this: breathe slower and count your breath silently. And, most importantly, do your job. Please don't fight against this, it's like trying "very hard" not to think about something, which ends up the opposite way. |
||||
|
|
|
The theme song to National Geographic is my "song eraser. ". It is snazzy enough to replace the current song, but it has a definite ending, so it doesn't stick around. |
|||
|
|
