During the last NFJS conference I attended, Neal Ford gave a speech about how the environment can have a serious effect on how productive we are. He mentioned that we love programming because it is a way for us to reach the “Flow”. The concept of the “Flow” was proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, and is defined as “the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.”

Neal, gave us a list of good ideas one how we can reach our “Flow”, after all this is not something we can just turn on and off. The list included, comfortable chairs, double monitors, toys and NO CUBE FARMS. He also talked about the difference between the left and right side of our brains and how we need both for our line of work.

For me, as well as many others, I believe that music is a good way of reaching the “Flow”. Here is a list of some of my favorite artist to work with:

1. Brian Eno

2. E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research)

3. Flying Saucer Attack

4. Can

5. Kraftwerk

6. Leonard Cohen

7. Mojave 3

8. Nick Drake

9. Sigur Ros

10. Tom Waits