This post contains affiliate links, marked with . This means, if you make a purchase through such a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.

Flow refers to the feeling of complete immersion and complete absorption in an activity, which proceeds as if of its own accord - in other words, the rush of creativity or activity or functional pleasure, also known as being in the zone. The happiness researcher Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is considered the creator of the flow theory, which he developed from the observation of various areas of life, including surgeons and extreme athletes. Flow can occur when controlling a complex, fast-paced event in the range between overload (anxiety) and underload (boredom). Access and flow experience vary from individual to individual.

Advertisement

This is where music can help to better get in the flow with greater consistency. Music helps us to concentrate by blocking out distracting noise. It acts as a stimulus that engages the brain, which modify our mood and provides a rhythm that keeps us alert. This serves to make the task at hand more engaging, less dull, and easier to concentrate on.

I've already tried using different apps, streams and playlists to create my work and leisure atmosphere so that I can concentrate or relax better. Currently, I'm sticking with ambient playlists from Apple Music and the white-noise app Endel .

Endel

Founded in 2018, Endel is an AI-powered soundscape app. The company’s technology Endel Pacific creates personalized, adaptive soundscapes backed by neuroscience. Their apps are available on iOS, Apple Watch, macOS, Amazon Alexa, and Android. The company just announced it has raised a $15 million in a Series B round. This sounds like they are going to stick around a little longer.

Endel: Personalized soundscapes to help you focus, relax, and sleep.

Apple Music

The subscription music service from Apple has plenty of atmospheric albums. But rather than choosing a particular composer, I usually select one of the pre-made playlists. While everyone's taste for atmospheric music is unique to them, with over 50,000,000 songs on the platform, there's gotta be something, somewhere on Apple Music for everyone.

Pre-made playlists by Apple Music

Here is a list of a few of my items in my collection:

Endel - Personalized soundscapes to help you focus, relax, and sleep. Backed by neuroscience.
Personalized soundscapes to help you focus, relax, and sleep. Backed by neuroscience.
Endel - Personalized soundscapes to help you focus, relax, and sleep. Backed by neuroscience.
Get millions of songs. All ad-free.
Plus your entire music library on all your devices.
Apple Music