Writer Support: Find Your Groove

What Beats Get You In The Zone?

No, I’m not talking about your dancing feet (Trust me. I’m no authority on that subject). Finding your writing rhythm isn’t always the easiest task. Some people find silence (No Distractions) helps them stay on task, others have shows streaming in the background, or maybe you find listening to music helps your head find its zone and your hands find their wiggle.

Each and every person works in their own way. That discovery will only come from experimenting with different methods in order to find what works best. My sister for example works well having films playing in the background. I’ve seen her go through the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy whilst she's worked away at one of her university projects. Then another time she had Coraline looping non-stop because she was locked in her zone and just didn't get up to change the DVD over. Whilst I can safely say that works for her, it definitely doesn’t work for me. As soon as there’s some imagery to look at, or a film/series I like is in my peripheral it’ll inevitably pull my focus. Minutes later, the laptop will be closed and I’ll be sat down locked to watch Sam and Frodo’s 9-hour trek to Mordor.

But that’s okay. I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t work for me. That's not to say it won't work for you, but I know anything visual will pull my mind's focus without failure. Hence my groove comes from sounds and music. I've tried White noise and thunder sounds, and whilst they relax me, they don’t lock me into my creative groove. No, that groove is reserved exclusively for LoFi Beats it seems.

I'd tried Classical music at university, but it only worked for a brief period of time before I wanted to be up doing something else. The same can be said about music compilations and the compiled playlists of my favourite songs, but LoFi mixes just have the magical rhythm that unlocks my creativity and keeps me locked into the flow.

But what is LoFi music I don't hear you ask. Well, Low Fidelity (LoFi) music is unpolished, rhythmic recordings. They embrace the imperfections of ambient noises and lower production quality, helping to cultivate a relaxed environment. With many appearing on YouTube, they'll often include a short looping visual that matches the relaxed vibe of the music.

LoFi music is actually known for helping those with a more sporadic attention span, and even aids in calming the damaging effects of anxiety and depression. It's noted that the mellow instrumental composition of the pieces helps conduct a non-distracting background noise that can help improve concentration without igniting any stress levels.

So what method helps get your writing groove into gear? Have you tried LoFi music yet? Be sure to let me know. As always thanks for taking the time to read. :)