Top 10 Productivity Playlists To Listen To On Your Work Or Study Grind

Throw on some classical and write up that financial report. Play some ambient electronic and create inspired poetry. Bump some lo-fi hip-hop and crank out that sociology thesis paper.

When working, the right music can be a mood-booster and could potentially even improve productivity, according to research. The real challenge is finding the right playlist—you know, the one that makes your brain happy and gets you into flow.

These are our favorites. Whatever your preferred genre, there’s a good chance you’ll find it here:

1.  Infinite Ambient Mix

Energizing and ethereal, this playlist builds and pulses and reprograms your brain specifically for productivity.* Consisting of 23 different seamlessly mixed ambient electronic tracks, hit play on this mix and enjoy a two-hour soundtrack to your next focused work sesh.

*There is no research to back this claim up. But you have our word for it.  

2. Classical for Work, Study, Focus, Concentration by Soft Relax Radio

Piano is the backbone of this 201-song modern-classical mega-mix. Soft and melodic, this instrumental playlist calms and focuses the working mind.

Listen here: Classical for Work, Study, Focus, Concentration by Soft Relax Radio

3. Upbeat Instrumental Work Music

Eclectic, vibrant, and bright, this 2-hour-and-20-minute mix evokes an inspired, calm mood.  

4. Brain Food

Call it chillwave, intelligent dance music, or ambient electronic, music of this synthesized ilk has revolutionized the musicscape since blowing up in the mid-to-late 2000s. The instrumental work of a number of festival-headlining EDM artists such as Deadmau5, Odesza, Disclosure, and more are featured in this 150-song playlist.

5. Chill Lofi Study Beats

This mix is also instrumental electronic, but with a hip-hop element. Big names in the electronic scene like Tycho, Jon Hopkins, and Getter bless you with 150 songs worth of focus fuel.

6. Black Uhuru Radio

Wouldn’t you rather get all of those to-do’s done on a white-sand beach? Of course you would. But you can’t. So here’s the next best thing.

Vibe-out with some of reggae’s best bands from the 60s, 70s, and 80s and shift your mindset to mellow.  

Listen here: Black Uhuru Radio

7. Spanish Guitar Radio

Is there anything smoother than the sound of Spanish guitar? Probably not. Listen to this playlist if you like the idea of having a Spanish flamenco player serenading your work sesh.

Listen here: Spanish Guitar Radio

8. Mozart Classical Music for Studying, Concentration, Relaxation by Just Instrumental Music

Pour a glass of pinot and channel your inner baby Einstein with over three hours of the one-and-only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

9. Soulection curated by Joe K.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive mix of current-but-lowkey rappers and R&B artists, and industry legends like Earth, Wind, and Fire, check out the “future of soul” curated by Joe K, brought to you by Apple Music.

Updated regularly, it’s the perfect playlist for background bops you can bump without being distracted by that annoying tick to rap-along with (you probs don’t know most of the songs).

Listen here: Soulection curated by Joe K.

10. Brain.fm

Supposedly the perfect playlist for you, this playlist isn’t actually a playlist—at least, not until one is custom-designed for you. Featured in Vice, NBC News, and Forbes, Brain.fm works with teams of scientists to formulate a playlist personalized for you.

“Every beat, note and tone in our music works together to help you get in the zone (and stay in the zone) so you can crush your to-do list.”

Can’t argue with science.

Listen here: Brain.fm