Productive Sonic Environment

It is easy to focus on how the things we see contribute or detract from our productivity and overlook the impact of what we hear. I started experimenting with creating audio environments using ambient nature sounds when my daughter was born. Back in April, I published a short, lower quality version of what I was using.

The idea is that distractions cause you to lose focus and it takes awhile to get back into what you are doing. A 30 second distraction may take 5 to 15 minutes to recover from If you can eliminate even just a two of these distractions it can easily give you an extra 30 minutes per day.

The feedback I got from the low quality versions was positive, but most people wanted something longer and higher quality. Today we are releasing three very high quality audio files that will let you create a productive audio environment. All three feature water sounds: Ocean, Rain, and Brook. Unlike the previous file, these are extremely high quality. A single, ten-minute file is around 25 MB.

While the ten-minute versions are free, we also have hour-long versions available for sale for $12.50 each. These are huge 140 MB MP3 files that you can play on your computer, MP3 player, or burn to a CD. These aren’t for everyone, but people who are looking to create large blocks of high concentration will probably want to buy the full version of one of the files.

To get the free ten-minute versions, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the order page or by filling out the form below. You will be sent a welcome message with three links to the free ten-minute versions. Over the next three days, you’ll get a short email outlining different ways to use the audio file to help you be more productive. If you are one of those people who needs the longer file, you can use the ten-minute versions to decide which works best for you. The audio quality is the same on both versions.

(If you don’t see the form, you may need to click through to the website for it to show up.)

Brook Sounds are Quite Popular

Yesterday I posted an MP3 that I use to give me ambient noise.  The audio is the sound of a brook.  Evidently brook sounds are very popular.  Here is what my outgoing traffic looked like for the past few days.

The blue line is my outgoing traffic, which suddenly jumped when it was posted.  It looks like a couple thousand people downloaded the file.  If you were one of the ones who downloaded it, please give me some feedback on whether it was useful or not.  I’ve got a few other ones with different sounds that I’m thinking about releasing and I’d like to know what was good or bad about the way this one worked.

If you didn’t download it and want to check it out, the link is in the bottom of the RSS feed.  You can get it by subscribing to the email feed or using and RSS reader.

Ambient Sound Download - The Brook

Have you ever wished you could tune out background noise–maybe to drown out an annoying co-worker or just to stay focused? I know a lot of people use music for this, but personally I find music divides my concentration (a possible side effect of my training in music theory and composition). To help concentrate I need something that will stay in the background. Trying a bunch of sounds, I’ve found that water seems to be the most effective. Someday I’ll probably get a fountain for my office, but until then I’ve created an MP3 file to help me concentrate.

I’m making the file available as a special bonus to RSS and Email subscribers. If you’d like to download it, just subscribe to the RSS feed using your favorite feed reader or using the Email subscription box in the upper right hand corner of the site. You’ll find the download link at the bottom of any post or email.

The file is 10 minutes long and you can set it to loop with most MP3 players in order to get continuous sound. Try using it next time you are being distracted by sound and see if it helps you focus.

Update:  We have created several more files that are much higher quality including hour long files that are available for sale.  You can get the free versions by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.