Old-School Study Snacks and Music for Focus

“What’s your old-school favorite study snack or music you still indulge in when you need to focus?”

Here is what 20 thought leaders had to say.

Choose Brown Noise, Reward Progress with Gummy Bears

When I need to focus, the only “music” I can listen to is brown noise. Not white noise, which is too high-pitched, but brown noise. It is a comfort that helps me to truly concentrate and fully cut out the world around me. Snack-wise, nothing beats Haribo gummy bears; I place them at the ends of long textbook paragraphs, and they serve as a reward once I get that far!

Pair Popcorn with Vintage Jazz for Focus

My old school focus choice is plain popcorn tossed with olive oil. It is quiet enough for reading, yet repetitive enough to settle nerves. Heavy snacks make concentration sluggish, while popcorn stays pleasantly in the background. I keep a glass bottle of sparkling water nearby for contrast. That pairing feels like a reset button during dense research sessions. Good focus often begins with comfort that never asks for attention.

For music, I still rely on vintage jazz guitar from vinyl-era recordings. Slight hiss and warm imperfections create a cocoon around analytical work. Clean digital tracks sometimes feel too exposed for deep concentration. I play the same mellow set whenever planning, writing, or problem-solving. Familiar sound turns the brain toward rhythm, structure, and patience.

Crack Sunflower Seeds to Settle Focus

My all-time focus snack is sunflower seeds. The cracking process feels meditative. It is also rhythmic and keeps the fidgety part of my brain occupied, so I can focus on what I am doing.

Trust Protein Snacks and 90s Film Scores

A peeled hard-boiled egg with a small handful of almonds. It’s been my chart-review snack since residency, and I haven’t found anything better.

The egg-and-nuts combo is steady protein and steady fat – the two macros that keep cognition flat instead of spiky. The mistake most people make with study snacks is reaching for something carb-forward – granola, fruit on its own, anything chocolate – and then crashing thirty minutes in. The whole point of a study snack is to hold the line on focus, not raise it for ten minutes and drop it.

For music: instrumental film scores from the 90s, mostly. Hans Zimmer’s Crimson Tide and the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack on repeat. Both are emotionally textured enough to drown out office noise, but don’t have lyrics to compete with what I’m reading. I tried lo-fi. I tried classical. I keep coming back to the same handful of soundtracks I had on a CD in 2003.

Old-school works because old-school is about the second-order effects you noticed for yourself, not the productivity-content cycle telling you what should work. The protein-and-fat snack and the same scores I focused on twenty years ago – nothing optimized, just two things that have actually held up.

Cue Classic Rock, Coffee, and Simple Snacks

Give me classic rock and a dark roast anytime I need to be dialed in. Old albums will likely never fall out of rotation because I know the songs enough that they don’t pull me out of whatever task I’m focusing on. A lot of automotive finance and claims work involves stress when reviewing case details and weighing operational decisions, so I’ve always leaned on music that tempers the frenetic energy. The same goes for the snack category: salted peanuts or plain digestive cookies are typically my go-tos on long nights, poring over performance metrics or process issues.

I have to admit that this ritual has remained quite similar for me throughout the years. Even when I was grinding through the startup phase of businesses, I spent many nights in nearly-empty offices with nothing but spreadsheets, coffee mugs, and some rock station blasting on Spotify. I’ve dabbled in productivity playlists and new-wave focus apps, but find myself returning to what I know works, music that keeps me tuned in to my work.

Set Electronic Beats with Chips and Soda

When I need to buckle down and focus for hours at a time, often on technical or marketing tasks, I still find myself listening to electronic/instrumental playlists. Much of this stems from time spent working on websites where you would find yourself debugging or iterating on user experience flows for hours on end and not wanting to listen to words when you were trying to concentrate. I’ve noticed that looping electronic music puts me in the right tempo for cognitive tasks that require switching gears between SEO audits, customer journey analysis, and site performance reports.

My comfort snack of choice when sitting down for a long afternoon of work is still potato crisps and an old-school can of soda. Not the healthiest option these days, but more reminiscent of nostalgia at this point. Whenever I’m in the thick of an aggressive campaign launch or complicated site migration, popping open a can of soda and grabbing a bag of chips still puts me in the same mindset I was in when facing deadlines in university or my first jobs at agencies. I’ve kept this habit for so long because it allows me to go into focus mode within seconds. In industries where you’re constantly context-switching and burning through energy, sometimes old habits trump the pursuit of building the ultimate productivity lifestyle.

Soft R&B, Tea, and Chocolate Ground Me

Mine is typically early R&B or Spotify’s late-90s radio station playing softly with tea and chocolate within arm’s reach. In ops, and particularly in claims management, you’re faced with juggling people problems, customer escalations, regulatory demands, and non-stop distractions all day long. I like something that’s familiar enough that I can focus without it being another thing that demands focus. Music allows me to create a sense of normalcy for myself, especially during nights when I’m trying to catch up on planning or read operational reports after a hectic day.

What has remained the same through the years is that I work best when my environment feels the least hectic. When I first started, I used to associate focusing with complete silence. However, you almost never get that luxury in an operational leadership role. I’ve learned that the small things are more important than ideal situations. Having a familiar playlist and some dried fruit or chocolates may seem trivial, but when you’re in the weeds, they can help you feel grounded.

Grab Trail Mix, Match Tempo to Task

Trail mix with almonds, chocolate chips, and dried fruit, which I found to be the best study snack for me during my MBA days. I make sure to drink it with plain water or unsweetened tea to be even more concentrated. Music: usually instrumental jazz or lo-fi (the songs without any lyrics) and Hans Zimmer film score. I simply switch up tempo: slow for deep focus, fast for lighter tasks.

Reach for Walnuts When Focus Must Last

Nuts are my old-school favorite study snack, and I still indulge in them when I need to focus. I love them because, although I have a flexible schedule working from home for a digital media company in the insurance industry, this snack is no muss, no fuss. It doesn’t take any prep. It’s also not messy, which I appreciate since I’m constantly using my keyboard and don’t have much space on my desk.  Also, since a serving is only roughly a 1/4 cup, they can be eaten quickly. I’m partial to walnuts because of the instant pick-me-up they provide.

Rely on Game Soundtracks for Deep Focus

I still put on video game soundtracks every time I need to lock in on a hard problem. Specifically, the Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy scores. I picked up the habit during late nights studying computer science at Northwestern, and it stuck.

Here’s why it works for me.

Game composers built those soundtracks to hold a player’s focus for hours without ever pulling attention away from the screen. No lyrics, no sudden tempo shifts. Just steady background music that your brain learns to associate with concentration.

I’ve tried lo-fi playlists and ambient apps (dozens of them), but nothing hits the same way. Even now, when I’m debugging Chronicle code at midnight, I throw on the Ocarina of Time soundtrack and everything else disappears.

So my advice for students is to find the one playlist that works and stop switching around. Your brain needs that consistency to build the focus trigger.

Blast 90s Drum and Bass for Drive

90s Drum and Bass without vocals. They have a high BPM, between 160 and 180, which matches my typing speed and gives me the ego boost I need to get through a task. I noticed the slow bass keeps my heart rate steady, avoiding anxiety and the need for external stimulation.

Favor Jazz or Classical, Skip Gimmick Playlists

Operating a moving business means juggling multiple tasks and trying to focus on one operation when six other matters need your urgent attention. I’ve been listening to ‘Wellness Gurus’ about enhancing productivity through ‘focus frequency’ playlists, but old-school instrumental jazz and low-volume classical bring me into the groove.

Simple instrumental music calms down my brain subconsciously, and doesn’t let the lyrics/other tasks distract me from that one operation. Focus is becoming the new expensive currency, and I like to retain it with steady background music, which makes my active thoughts prosper. 

Whether it’s Miles Davis or Bach, I know I’m instantly producing some great marketing/lead-gen campaigns when jazz instrumental hits my ear. The Bottom line is, you don’t need to listen to a specific ‘focus frequency’ to numb the noise in your brain. Play what fixes your focus, and double down on such playlists.

Keep Taralli Handy to Power Deep Work

The snack is taralli. My mother ships them from her Sicilian supplier in the Sunset District, and I hoard them like they’re finite. They’re essentially a pretzel that went to Italy and never came back. Plain, fennel, or pepper. I’ve eaten them over every major product decision I’ve made in life. 

There’s something about a snack with no sugar crash and no real payoff that suits deep work. It’s not rewarding enough to be a distraction. It just keeps your hands busy while your brain does the actual thing.

Return to Instrumental Jazz and Simple Snacks

I think when there is a need to concentrate, especially if I’m working, I always turn to old school instrumental jazz. 

It somehow creates a nice, soft but focused atmosphere without getting distracting while I read or solve problems for long periods. Productivity-based music playlists are great; however, in the end, I have to switch back to what I initially started listening to.

For snacks, I prefer something very easy to consume. It may be coffee or a finger food that will allow me to maintain focus and not break it. This kind of routine tends to be because, for me, it’s all about familiarity when I’m trying to be productive and get as much done as possible.

Turn to Classical Piano to Restore Focus

Classical piano is still my reset button when I need to focus because of its simplicity, predictability, and unanticipated sense of tranquility. It allows me to create a mental backdrop for solving very difficult and complicated tasks.

I began listening to classical piano during late-night study sessions many years ago and have since continued the same practice while managing my business. When I am reviewing contracts or developing operational procedures, classical piano is what I listen to first to provide the same structure night after night, ensuring that I have consistently been able to perform at my highest levels.

Research has shown that listening to structured instrumental-type music can improve focus when compared to listening to no music or to music with lyrics, by between 15% and 20%. I can’t say I knew that when I started, but the results were obvious early on.

For me, the predictability of the structure is what does it. Unlike music with lyrics, classical piano never pulls attention away from the task at hand.

Go With Trip Hop Beats and Peanuts

When it comes to working on something seriously, I always find myself gravitating towards the 2000s electronic and trip-hop genres because of the repetitive beats and melodious tones. Massive Attack, Bonobo – these artists, in particular. 

Repetitive and ambient tunes somehow make it easier to get down to business, especially when it comes to writing and reviewing edits. They’re subtle enough to not distract me but entertaining enough to keep me going.

When it comes to food, the one snack I’ve stuck to since university is salted peanuts. Again, nothing groundbreaking here – just another option I could graze on throughout my workday. And it helps that it keeps me slightly full and is super easy to consume while I work.

Lean on Slow Jazz, Coffee, and Almonds

Sometimes, when I need to be highly focused, I go back to the same rituals that were a part of my life several years ago when I was working hard on my studies and projects while beginning my career. 

One thing that remains unchanged is my love for instrumental music or slow jazz, since it helps to form background energy without distracting me from my work.

Given my past as a college athlete, I love my routines, which means that the same applies to my snacking; so, I love a simple coffee with some almonds or trail mix because it is very convenient and does not hamper me while working for a long period of time.

I believe that having the surroundings as familiar as possible helps me concentrate faster, and despite the technological progress and advances that we currently have, some of my old rituals prove to be the best way of focusing for me.

Brew Armenian Coffee, Play Instrumental for Focus

My classic study ritual includes strong Armenian coffee and instrumental music. Nothing more, nothing less. If there’s an assignment that requires all my concentration skills, then I prepare the coffee just like our ancestors used to and turn off the world for a while to listen to some calming music – usually jazz or piano without lyrics.

I apply this simple method even now, whenever I review proposals or estimate the cost of organizing transport for an event as part of LAXcar company operations. The presence of lyrics distracts my attention, whereas the absence of any sounds creates complete silence in the room, which makes me feel uncomfortable. Coffee also plays its role here – it gives my brain a signal that says, “It’s time to concentrate!”

This simple ritual seems rather outdated, but, surprisingly, it still works great. Sometimes, the most effective studying habit is not about apps and techniques.

Stick with Familiar Instrumental Hip-Hop for Focus

The music I still use to focus is early 2000s instrumental hip-hop and lo-fi beats. When I was in college, I found music with lyrics distracting, as I kept paying attention to the words rather than the music. The instrumental tracks gave me energy without distracting me. I created a playlist with artists like Nujabes and DJ Okawari. I still use the same playlist for deep work sessions now.

I enjoy the familiarity. I know the tracks so well my brain barely registers them as music anymore. New playlists always distract me a little bit since my brain keeps noticing unfamiliar sounds. Each time I change my focus dips compared to the old playlist again.

Turn on Strategy Game Scores to Sustain Focus

Video game soundtracks, mostly from SimCity, Civilization, and the original Diocese. These tracks are engineered to keep your brain engaged without being distracting. They have a steady tempo, no lyrics to disrupt your focus, and they create some mission-based momentum.