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It’s Monday. Your brain is still is weekend mode, but you’ve got a to-do list a mile long.
Finding the focus and motivation to kick into gear can be hard, but sometimes all it takes is listening to the right song.
We asked 31 successful executive what songs they play when they need to get themselves in a more productive mood.
From Pharrell Williams’ Happy to Beautiful Day by U2, here are the songs theses c-level execs turn up to get the job done.
Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice, listens to Sugarman by Rodriguez.
"The sugarman is my go to song for the end of the day. It has a soothing reaction on me."
Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes of Prey, listens to Puccini's Madame Butterfly.
"I listen to opera, and specifically Puccini's Madame Butterfly. I love it because it completely soaks up all those errant thoughts that normally distract me, but also has the right momentum and melody to push me along."
Mat Jacobson, CEO and founder of Dūcere, listens to playlists generated by Spotify.
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"I don’t really have a specific song, I rely on Spotify which has great range of playlists, so depending how I feel all I need to do is to hit a button without having to think about it. I find music to be excellent for working as motivation or simply to block out background distractions."
Janelle Goulding, CEO of City West Housing, listens to Happy by Pharell Williams.
"I always concentrate better when I feel happy and that song says it all!"
Michael Allara, chief strategy officer of Open Colleges Australia, listen to Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica.
"If you saw me with headphones on I was probably listening to Oneohtrix Point Never, Burial, Earth, Scientist, or Sonic Youth’s instrumentals. What helps me get (and stay) focused when I have to solve something particularly complex… Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica. What helps me get (and stay) focused when I have a lot to do in a short space of time…The Knife – Shaking the Habitual."
Carolyn Colley, CEO of Decimal Software, listens to Beautiful Day by U2.
"It's a really positive song with great beat (especially useful track when running and don’t really feel like it). I find it is energising, lifts the spirit; no matter what the struggles are, don’t let them get you down…embrace it, it is a Beautiful Day!"
James van Rooyen, founder and director of Bicycles Online, listens to Bon Iver.
"I listen to Bon Iver. His music is relaxing and helps me to chill out as the lyrics are hard to decipher so I don't get distracted."
Van Rooyen will be speaking at the Online Retailer Conference & Expo in Sydney on 22-23 July 2015.
Steve Phillips, CEO of Smartbox, listens to Roar by Katy Perry.
"As a powerful advocate of the feminist movement, Katy always brings a tear to Steve’s eye. The soaring chorus reassures him that his booming voice and boundless enthusiasm are a critical part of the Smartbox brand."
Tim Fung, CEO of Airtasker, listens to Days of Thunder Score by Hans Zimmer.
"I like to listen to epic movie instrumentals when I’m trying to concentrate as it provides a great 'gee up' to doing brain exercise but doesn’t have complex or emotional lyrics that distract you from the work at hand."
Tim Clover,CEO of Engagement Innovation, listens to Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine.
"It starts full of intrigue and 'can do', which is great for preparing the right mindset for the tasks I don't naturally want to do first but that I need to prioritise.
As the song builds, I list out my 'power list' - the next three things I'm going to do, and then I start to get into them. By the time it's finished I'm usually part way through the list. (so much so that usually I don't even notice it finish)."
View the full list on Business Insider Australia
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