This document contains ideas from Team Brain Freeze on how music could be used to balance work and home life and reduce stress. Some of the ideas include an alarm clock that plays relaxing music when it's time to leave work, playing calming music over intercoms at certain times of day, and having musical reminders and rewards to encourage balancing work and personal life and completing tasks. The team suggests using music in various ways both at work and home through devices, alarms, activities and areas to help separate work and personal time and reduce stress.

1. How Might We...
Use Music
to Balance Work & Home
Life
and Reduce Stress?Team Brain Freeze:
Erin Blomstrand & Michelle
Breaux

2. Alarm clock
that plays “I’m
Going Home”
when you need
to leave work
Biometric chip in
head that
responds to
stress and plays
music
Play calming
music over
intercom at
certain times

3. Have musical
instruments in
your office to
play on music
breaks
Music break
throughout day
for dance and
sing
Musical walls
in classroom to
play
instruments or
videos or
playlists

4. Musical alarm
that changes
based on the
time of day
Musical alarm
that plays music
louder until you
leave the office
Faculty choir to
relax and have
fun

5. Music trivia
games
Singing grams
to remind you
time to leave
the office
Campus wide
leave-the-office
music

6. Musical shoes
that play
relaxing music
as you walk
Musical schedule
reminders
Music
downloads as
rewards when
you leave work
early

7. Reward musical
track for
completing to-
do tasks
Musical
exercise
reminder
Musical
day/week
summary of
your activities
to help balance

8. Musical reward
when pay for
healthy choices
at the cafe
Pump music into
study rooms and
tuthoring center
Music in parking
lot

9. Musical
biometric pod
Muscial reward
for balancing
checkbook and
putting money
in savings
Musical
toothbrush

10. Stress machine
with animal
sounds like
purring
Musical alarm on
Fit-Bit to keep
going to meet
step goal
Hospice rooms
with
soundtracks of
children’s
laughter and
playing

11. Musical
homework
reminders in
Canvas
Classroom
plays music
when teacher
opens the door
Musical awards
when students
complete all
their
assignments for
the day/week

12. Play musical
chairs at all-
employee
events
Play Simon game
for memory
boosts
Email musical
grams to send
to colleagues
as needed

13. Musical time
outs for upset
employees or
students
Musical walk
ways on campus
Musical warning
over campus if
you’re the last
person at work

14. Dance breaks in
long meetings
Musical warning
that faculty need
to grade
Employee
Christmas
caroling

15. Ergonomic
musical
warnings for
chairs and
knives
Musical tension
breaker for
heated
discussions
Musical alarm
for worn out
machine parts

16. Musical
countdown to
end of the day
or semester
Musical
motivational
machine
Musical alarm
for each task as
gentle
reminder of
time on task

17. Personal
soundtrack as
you leave the
office or your
car leaves
parking lot
Musical pen
that plays as
you write or
grade
Office door
musical
greeting

18. Each time an
employee
makes a
connection with
an employee or
student music
plays
Coordinated
music to grade
percentages in
Canvas
Muscial alarms