Want to get more done? This is the best music to work to

Listening to music at work can you stay focused, build creativity and block out

distractions, scientists say. But first you have to pick the right track.

Excerpted from "Want to get more done? This is the best music to work to" by Lucy Dean in the Australian Financial Review published on Feb 15, 2026. "Ashton Jones, the director of customer innovation at wealth manager Insignia, said he has a focus playlist he uses when he needs to crack a difficult creative or work problem.

This features music from modern composers Max Richter (known for the morose and evocative On the Nature of Daylight and more recently, the Hamnet score), Hans Zimmer³ (the man behind The Dark Knight, Interstellar and Inception soundtracks) and Icelandic instrumental and soft rock artists Olafur Arnalds and Sigur Ros, who create soft piano music and rich Scandinavian soundscapes.

“I think there are a lot of distractions in modern society,” Jones says.

“Attention spans have been getting shorter, and it’s more difficult to focus⁴ . I’ve always used music as a focusing tool, more than anything else."

“That might be [when I’m] writing a board paper when I’m at Insignia, or outside of work when I’m writing my books ... on transformation and innovation,”

1 - https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/dance-rolls-rock-as-australians-music-of-choice-20250611-p5m6it

2 - https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/how-spotify-s-playlists-changed-the-culture-of-listening-20250130-p5l89x

3 - https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/hans-zimmer-steps-out-from-behind-the-screen-20190904-p52o1b

4 - https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/ignoring-your-phone-is-the-next-health-trend-but-maybe-the-hardest-20260106-p5ns2f

5 - https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/we-ve-run-a-four-day-week-for-years-here-s-what-nearly-killed-it-20250828-p5mqnd