Image source: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4101/4936304143_29539a94c3_z.jpg
When the lessons were over, and I needed to do my assignments, every
time I would go to the library so as to enjoy the silence, determined to be
extremely productive. However, this has never panned out so far. Paradoxically,
but people silently typing something on their laptops just get on my nerves,
making it unbearable to concentrate and work in such a dull atmosphere. On the
contrary, the atmosphere in the atrium was too loud for my ideas. Thus, I went
to a nearest coffee bar with my laptop and soon started to notice that even
when I wasn’t drinking coffee (my bad, sometimes I just sit in a coffee bar
sipping a glass of water) I was more productive and concentrated than sitting
in a dorm or library. Isn’t it strange, I wondered? Actually, no, if you take a
glance at research conducted by Mehta, Zhu and Cheema (2012).
The research they have done revealed that there is a significant
positive correlation between medium ambient noises and the creativity;
particularly, the researchers aimed at exploring whether the omnipresent noises
around us can boost our brain activity somehow. From now on, here arises the
question: “How we can define the ambient noises?” And the authors provide nice
explanation, saying that ambient noises are those unwanted sounds we hear around
ourselves in everyday life (Mehta, Zhu, & Cheema, 2012, p. 785). They can
be anything – from unpleasant road construction noises to more appealing whoosh
of a coffee machine in an office. So how these noises can affect our creativity
cognition and boost our productivity instead of distracting?
The
researchers conducted five experiments, revealing that the high level of noise
affects negatively the information processing along with “reducing processing
motivation”, thus, impairing the generation of creative ideas (Mehta, Zhu,
& Cheema, 2012, p. 787). Accordingly,
it was found that in a moderate level of noise people are more likely to
generate creative ideas, comparing with a low or a high level of noise, which
was quite surprising for me personally, since it is considered that working in a
relative silence is the guarantee of a successful task accomplishment and higher
concentration.
By and large, it was concluded that ambient noises do affect creativity, as long as they are of moderate volume, first arousing the abstract cognition, which in turn improves the creative output. So it can be implied from this research that sometimes in order to restart your cognitive processing and find interesting ideas, it is better to go somewhere where it is lively and buzzy (like in a coffee bar or a park) rather than burying oneself in a library or at home.
After being inspired by such a finding, I decided to surround myself
with pleasant ambient noises so as to be more productive. Soon after that idea I
bumped into a great application on my phone, named Coffetivity, which replicates
the noises of a coffee bar and does it greatly. As Justin Kauszler, one of the founders of the application, reminisces, once upon a time he noticed “that
when he returned to his regular work space after a coffee shop, in a subdued
and sterile office, his productivity took a nose-dive” (O’Connor, 2013, para
12). And that is how Mr. Kauszler decided to take the coffee bar atmosphere
with him everywhere by creating such an unusual program, available for the
computers and mobile devices.
Image source: the author
So whenever I feel I need to boost my creativity and enhance my
production mode, I open this app and put on earphones, thus being transgressed
to a cozy coffee bar somewhere in Almaty on Sunday morning… The irony of the
situation is that while listening to the imitation of sounds, I can sip the
real instant coffee ;)
References
Mehta, R., Zhu, R. J., & Cheema, A. (2012). Is noise always bad?
Exploring the effects of ambient noise on creative cognition. Journal
of Consumer Research, 39(4), 784-799.
O’Connor, A. (2013). How the hum of a coffee shop can boost
creativity. New York Times Blog. http://well. blogs. nytimes.
com/2013/06/21/how-the-hum-of-a-coffee-shop-can-boost-creativity.
• It was interesting to find out that the sound of a café and pouring coffee might inspire or wax concentration and productivity of study. I am not cynical, but I assume that no any music or melody will create a productive atmosphere. Especially when the deadliness is near at hand. The music will just bother and muddle my ideas. However, classical music and sonatas by Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven might be good for relaxation and concentration. But still I would never be able to study and write papers by Mozart’s play. My best help when I need to really concentrate and do assignments, I search for inner calmness and try to find the point of nirvana!
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