Build The Best Work Playlist: 8 Songs To Avoid And 10 To Blast

• Research has shown that tunes with a beat-per-minute rate of 50-80 are ideal for productivity, promoting calmness, alertness and better concentration. 
• Workamajig examined the BPMs of iHeart’s Top 40 tunes to identify which songs are most likely to distract and which are best for maintaining focus. 
• The current top two most distracting songs to work to include “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna with 177 beats per minute, and “As It Was” by Harry Styles with 174 beats per minute.

Music can make the daily grind can be made a lot more enjoyable, but what happens when the catchy beat of a certain song gets stuck in your head and ruins your focus?  

Research has shown that tunes with a beat-per-minute rate of 50-80 are ideal for productivity, promoting calmness, alertness and better concentration. Additionally, these songs typically last two and a half minutes or less.  

To further explore this, Workamajig examined the BPMs of iHeart’s Top 40 tunes to identify which songs are most likely to distract and which are best for maintaining focus. 

These are currently the top 8 most distracting songs to work to:  

1. Lift Me Up — Rihanna: 177 BPM
2. As It Was — Harry Styles: 174 BPM
3. Uh Oh — Tate Mcrae: 174 BPM
4. SNAP —  Rosa Linn: 170 BPM
5. Bad Habit — Steve Lacy: 169 BPM
6. Victoria’s Secret — Jax: 167 BPM
7. Die For You — Joji: 148 BPM
8. Made You Look — Meghan Trainor: 145 BPM

Miley Cyrus’ chart-topping new song “Flowers,” at 118 beats per minute, is a bad choice to blast while trying to be productive.  

If you need music to stay motivated while working, Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and “Lavender Haze” may be more suitable options, at 97 bpm. And if you’re looking for the best-suited tune to assist you in your work productivity, Sza’s “Kill Bill” is your jam, which stays at a smooth 89 bpm. 

Here are the top 10 current songs that are good to work to: 

1. Kill Bill — Sza: 89 BPM
2. I’m A Mess w/YUNGBLUD — Avril Lavigne: 91 BPM
3. Golden Hour — JVKE: 94 BPM
4. Escapism f/070 Shake — Raye: 96 BPM
5. Anti-Hero — Taylor Swift: 97 BPM
6. Lavender Haze — Taylor Swift: 97 BPM
7. Creepin’ f/The Weeknd, 21 Sav. — Metro Boomin: 98 BPM
8. Sunshine f/Jhene Aiko/PopSmoke — Tyga: 98 BPM
9. Bloody Mary — Lady Gaga: 100 BPM
10. Billie Eilish — Armani White: 100 BPM