General Question

tinyfaery's avatar

How do I overcome my skip habit?

Asked by tinyfaery (44107points) October 19th, 2009 from iPhone

All I do is skip through songs on my iPod/iPhone. On my way to work I maybe listen to 2 full songs, but the rest of the time I just skip, skip, skip.

It’s not as if I don’t like the songs, they are afterall my choices, but it’s like I’m searching for the perfect song for the moment, and then I end up listening to nothing.

This is a new problem brought about my new technology. I was never like this before. What can I do to stop myself from skipping every song and just be satisfied with the song that comes on?

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22 Answers

poofandmook's avatar

Well, shit… if someone can answer this I would love to know, because I do the same thing.

sarah826's avatar

I wouldn’t think it’s a big deal…..I mean, I do the same thing.

Cartman's avatar

I do the same thing and it annoys the hell out of me, but I just can’t stop. Why? Fluther therapists please come to our rescue!

Beta_Orionis's avatar

Do you already randomize your playlist? I know linearity can lead to this problem. If you come to know the order, your brain loses interest, regardless of your love for the song.

A while back I also did a purge, where I sat down, played tiny clips of each song, and gave them a kneejerk rating. Then I only kept songs that received a 4/5 on a 1–5 scale on my device. Lots less skipping now, because they’re only songs I like very much or absolutely love. Randomizing helps me to break up any residual or building monotony.

veronasgirl's avatar

I do the same thing, and it really confuses me. Because it is my choice what songs are on my i pod. But it seems that I never really want to listen to any of them when I put my i pod on shuffle. Maybe @Beta_Orionis is right, maybe it is the linearity…..I’ll try changing the settings on mine

proXXi's avatar

See a doctor about ADD, seriously.

fireinthepriory's avatar

I got an iPod Shuffle and almost never skip songs anymore – I can’t put many on there, so I switch it up a lot, and the randomness keeps me from getting bored with what comes on next. I also usually keep my shuffle in my pocket, and I work with my hands (usually donning rubber gloves and needing to remain sterile or at least cleaner than my iPod is!), so it’s hard to skip a song anyway.

virtualist's avatar

@tinyfaery…..don’t overcome it…... flaunt it…... make random medleys of snippets of your favorites, all nicely faded into one another of course…...

MissAnthrope's avatar

I have musical ADD, totally. It’s gotten to where I almost can’t listen to a whole album, I get bored. I have a huge library and need it all mixed up. Like tinyfaery, I skip until I find a song that sounds good to me in that moment. Of course it’s all my music and I like each song, but it only sounds good if it’s the right moment.

What I did to overcome some of the skip-fest was to rate my songs based on liking and how often I want to hear them. Then I made two playlists: one for all my 5-star ranked songs (bestest faves), and one for a random selection from my library. I upload these to my iPod along with any other playlists of artists I’m liking at the time. This allows me to hear “new” stuff and give 5-stars to good songs, and also be guaranteed that I hear some songs I really like mixed in there.

Jude's avatar

@MissAnthrope, Wow! Good answer!

MissAnthrope's avatar

Aw, thanks. :)

P.S. Forgot to say that I set the songs to shuffle, so all playlists are mixed up.

judochop's avatar

Instead of skipping you should shuffle….You’ll hear songs you never knew you had.

tinyfaery's avatar

I skip in my shuffle setting. I have it bad.

Beta_Orionis's avatar

@tinyfaery oh dear. Have you considered the aforementioned rating scheme?

poofandmook's avatar

Mine are on shuffle too, and I skip… 3k tracks on shuffle and I skip.

Cartman's avatar

Ahoy fellow skippers! (Very Fluther of me, wasn’t it?) Maybe a return to the old Walkman with tape is the answer? Skipping is just not a possibility then, and if you try, the battery will just drain before you even reach the subway (replace with mode of transport of choice). Thus the habit might be broken. I’ll go on E-bay now and check.

Blondesjon's avatar

Every time you reach out to push that skip button you have to say, aloud, Jon is right. Jon is always right.

I guarantee that you will find yourself pushing that skip button less and less.

you’re welcome

BBSDTfamily's avatar

I think you should broaden your options. I too skip through songs, but I think it is because I’m bored with listening to the same songs, even if it’s the same 100+ songs. If a song comes on the radio I haven’t heard in forever, I’ll listen to it though.

sandystrachan's avatar

Break your fingers or turn off shuffle .
Jesus

jrpowell's avatar

This doesn’t help with your original problem but it might make your life easier.

In iTunes you can set the start and end times for each song. Pic

You could play with those so you just playback your favorite 30 seconds ef each song. It would take a while to adjust them all, but you wouldn’t need to keep reaching for your iPod.

drdoombot's avatar

Turn your iPod on, then put it in your bag or an inside pocket. The harder it is to reach, the less likely you’ll be to fish it out to skip to the next track.

I don’t have this problem because I’m an album person; I pick an album and listen to the whole thing from beginning to end. This habit forces me to listen to older music, when artists actually bothered to make the whole album good and not just 2–3 songs.

0004333's avatar

Place a plastic casing over the buttons and it will be too much work to get it off

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