What I listen to

• Lo-fi beats (no vocals) when I need deep focus.
• Studio Ghibli piano covers for cozy evening sessions.
• Ambient rain tracks on loop during long Expert runs.

If music distracts you, try 20 minutes of white noise instead. The right background sound shaved nearly a minute off my Medium times.

Extended reflections

Soundtracks matter more than I expected. If the tempo is too high, I rush and misplace pieces. If the melody is too complex, my attention splits. The sweet spot for me is slow and repetitive, where the music fades into the background like soft light.

I also rotate playlists by puzzle type. For busy city scenes, I use steady ambient tracks that stop me from speeding up. For nature scenes, I like gentle piano because it matches the calm of the image. When I am tired, I switch to white noise and let the puzzle be the only "story" my brain follows.

If you are struggling to focus, treat your soundtrack like a tool. Try one playlist for a week, note your times, then switch. The differences are real, and once you find the right match, puzzling feels smoother and more immersive.