The Ultimate Back-to-School Study Playlist

For college students, headphones aren’t just an accessory, they’re a necessity. Whether I’m in the car, walking around campus or doing homework, I always have music playing. Academically, I’m the type of person who is oh-so-easily distracted, so getting work done in silence has never been one of my specialties. I’ve always needed some kind of background noise to keep me focused, otherwise it takes all of five seconds for me to be off daydreaming in la la land, and accomplishing absolutely nothing.

With that being said, in regard to studying, I unfortunately have found that I can’t listen to most of my favorite songs. I always end up getting too caught up in the lyrics and singing along (horribly, I might add) instead of actually getting my homework done. We all know and love those really catchy jams that just demand to belted out whenever they’re played, but those songs really aren’t good for studying (save them for shower singing sessions, instead). So, after three years in college, I’ve finally decided to create a playlist that allows me to sit down, focus and get stuff done.

The songs that made it to my master playlist are very calm, ranging from coffee house vibes to classical music to soft background electronic beats. If I need to really focus and read, then I tend to stay away from songs with lyrics because even that can be a bit distracting when you’re reading something especially boring or difficult. As you begin to experiment with your own study music, you’ll notice that certain songs sort of just blend into the background while you pay attention to the task at hand, which is exactly what you want. However, if I’m just doing busywork or making a study guide or something, I prefer the songs with the lyrics so that I can hum and dance along with the music as a preform the tedious tasks.

There have been several studies that show the positive effects music can have on studying, attention and memorization. Meanwhile, other studies have resulted in negative effects, especially if the songs include lyrics and you need to memorize something chronologically. So perhaps there is some fancy scientific reason for why I prefer lyric-less music when I read, but ultimately, despite what any study says, it’s up to you to discover what works best with your own personal study habits.

All of the songs on my playlist can be found on Spotify, which is a free music app, unless you want a Premium membership that is. Thankfully, the premium option is only $5 for college students if you register with your university email, and then you can download songs and play them from anywhere without using any of your data (it’s totally awesome).

My collection of songs came from various other playlists and artists that I follow, such as the “Downtempo” playlist created by Alex Dahl, the “Your Favorite Coffeehouse” playlist created by Spotify and through my Discover Weekly. These songs are simply a list I made of my own personal preference, but it really helps me to study and do homework, so hopefully it can help you too. So, finally, here is the Ultimate Back-to-School Study Playlist.

1. Song Title: Sense of Home

Artist: Harrison Storm

Length: 4:25

Lyrics: Yes