‘Out of My Mind (live)’

John Mayer

Can’t concentrate? Here’s ten minutes and 12 seconds of gloriously wasted time riddled with Mayer-tastic musings and bluesy beats. I go “”Out of My Mind”” all the time …

— Kim Kotel

‘Happy Ending’

Mika

It might feel like there’s no happy ending in that stack of papers you’re supposed to be studying. But Mika’s four-and-a-half-minute piano-driven melodic track makes you forget — almost. “”I feel as if I’m wasted and I’ve wasted every day”” — sounds like the week before finals.

— Jazmine Woodberry

Every song

The Black Eyed Peas

“”I Gotta Feeling”” that when I’m “”Rockin To The Beat”” of any BEP track, I’m destined to throw my “”Hands Up”” and push thoughts of homework “”Out Of My Head.”” “”Where Is The Love,”” homework? You need to “”Meet Me Halfway”” so I can look at my syllabi and say to myself, “”Let’s Get It Started.””

— Remy Albillar

‘Don’t Stop the Music’

Rihanna

If you’re one of the few people on the planet who hasn’t heard this song, please do so the next time you don’t want to think about an upcoming deadline. What began as a way to “”shake the stress away”” quickly turns into something more: “”I just came here to party / But now we’re rockin’ on the dance floor, acting naughty.”” Who would want to work after that?

— Steven Kwan

‘Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)’

The Temptations

One way to procrastinate is to wonder what could have been. The Temptations hit the right note of bittersweet reverie in their classic 1971 song. They lull us in the beginning: “”To have a girl like her / is truly a dream come true.”” The singer even imagines the family he’ll be raising with this girl who passes by his window every day, but as the chorus gently reminds us, “”it was just my imagination, once again, / running away with me.””                 

— Steven Kwan

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Queen

You know all the lyrics. You know how to throw your voice and sing both parts of “”Galileo (Galileo) Galileo figaro.”” You know exactly when to crank it up to 11 and head-bang into rockin’ oblivion. Just listen to it one more time, then decide if you’ll write that essay or drop out of school and become a gun-toting, windchime-playing vagabond who goes any way the wind blows. Bonus distraction: type “”Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody”” into youtube, then watch on repeat for 45 minutes.

—Brandon Specktor