Music for the empty office

Working in an empty office is a particular kind of focus. The building is yours for the hour; the lights have decided themselves; the air conditioning sounds louder than it does during the day. Music has more room than usual, in every sense.

The focus room is the obvious pick, but I tend to take it slightly slower than I would during a normal working day. The room itself is quieter; the music doesn't need to do the work of muting an open-plan office. You can let it breathe, and the work tends to go deeper because of it.

What's interesting about an empty office is that some music that doesn't normally fit the focus brief — slower ambient, longer pieces, occasional pieces with a vocal — works fine here. The room is the right size for it. The same tracks at the same volume in a populated office would be all wrong; alone, they fit.

By the time the cleaners arrive, the music has done its hour. The focus room is what I'd take into a normal day; the empty-office room is closer to the wellness one, with more structure. Most working playlists never get a chance to see that version of themselves. It's worth knowing it's there.