Dealing with distractions

Answer 1

Can't remember where I've seen that, listen to white noise.

Answer 2

I've tried a number of those, but I dislike bulky headphones. What I ended up settling on was just the earbud headphones that came with my iPod... I plug them into my computer and stream my music collection from my home machine with Subsonic.

Answer 3

Listening to music can be a good solution, but it's at the expense of missing crucial information on what's going on with the team around you. I work in an open concept office, and fairly regularly I'm able to pick out problems or suggest a better way of doing things.

This isn't optimal, but if you can urge your cooworkers to make a bit less noise and schedule meetings to hash out problems, then you may be able to get the best of both alternatives.

Answer 4

I use a pair of in-ear earbuds from Shure. It makes it very hard to hear anything going on in the outside office world.

Also I only listen to music I've heard many times before while working. If I'm listening to new music or podcasts I get just as distracted.

Answer 5

I personally recommend some good over-the-ear studio headphones. I feel they block noise much better than the earbud style. I have some Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro headphones, and they're quite good, and really comfortable for wearing all day. They block noise decently, though they aren't noise canceling, per se. (I'm not sure how well noise canceling technology really works in an office environment anyway.)

You can spend a lot on headphones, but I look at it similarly to buying a good chair or monitor- you're using it all day, day in and day out, so do your research and go for it.

You could also try to get CD (or find a website) with different types of white noise available to put on in the background, as well.

Answer 6

I can definitely relate. I find that I'm most disturbed by noise when I'm working on a very complicated algorithm or a very brittle piece of code. Most other times these distractions don't bother me. I found an .mp3 of some soothing beach noise that actually seems to help out when I need to concentrate.

A better solution might be to work from home, assuming you have the option. Now, I don't mean to suggest you just walk out during the middle of a work day, but if you have the ability and you're not too tired, log in around 8PM or so and try to get some stuff done. If you can't work from home, maybe you can show up early or stay late.

Answer 7

I've tried various headphones over time. I truly believe you get what you pay for. I have tested the Bose linked below (in store only). They are unbelievable, but at a steep price. Unfortunately, I have to settle for my iPod at work.

Bose Noise Canceling Headphones

Answer 8

I currently have the unfortunate luck of working in a massive cubicle farm, which was obviously not designed by anyone who has any understanding of the concentration needed to do engineering work. Listening to music definitely helps as do noise canceling headphones, the only problem is that the cheap(er) ones might as well not be noise canceling at all...there is a HUGE gap in performance. The only ones I have found that are even worth it are Bose or Shure, and maybe a high-end sony...but you are looking at $100 at least.

One thing I often do, which is not a permanent solution by any means but does the trick on a day where you need to get away from all distractions and concentrate, is to schedule a meeting with no one but yourself and book a small conference room (if you have them). At my office we have about a dozen 3-4 person meeting rooms that work great. If you have a laptop, just take it and work in there for the day...you'll be amazed at your productivity. Granted, some companies may frown upon this...but it's worth trying.

Answer 9

Before getting the earphones, Check if there is no way you can work out a deal with the furniture police - Relocate away from the noise. Move to a cafeteria/conf room, hide in the crypt,

I've tried music - although it's a huge + when you're writing a doc or doing some routine task. When you're programming, white noise doesn't help.

Once again paraphrasing the book 'peopleware' (can't stop now.. I think I need help),

the left half of your brain does the cold logic and brute number crunching, the right half is the creative half. With music, the creative half is engrossed in it and you will miss vital jumps or Aha! moments that can save you a lot of time/effort. The book quotes an experiment where the majority of the 'white/pink noise' group implemented the solution correctly without realizing that the work was basically a set of steps that did nothing : output was equal to input!

Answer 10

I just switched from a pair of Sony on-ear headphones to a set of Everglide around the ear headphones from woot. The around the ear phones do a much better job of noise cancelling, are more comfortable, and also require less volume (due to the better seal) so I feel I am doing my eardrums a favor.

Answer 11

If you don't have noise cancelling headphones or ones that cover the ears, listening to music that you like can apparently (sorry, can't back this up with articles or links) be helpful since noise is mostly blocked and music that is more familiar is less distracting.

Answer 12

Sort of feeling my way around here; I'm not sure what the etiquette is as far as responding to people who respond to a question so if I'm committing a faux pas, please forgive me :-)

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Answer 13

I'd also recommend trying straight ear plugs. After trying a number of different kinds, I favor the super simple foam earplugs that you can buy by the case. Benefit: It's cheap to try.

I also have Sony earbugs (MDR-EX51) that I like - non-noise cancelling, but they do help limit outside sounds. I have two music playlists: with and without words (or in a foreign language). With words for times when the work is very basic, without words when I need to concentrate more. But I find that if I need serious concentration, no sound is the best.

Answer 14

Now it happened to me. A couple of weeks ago the director called me and yelled at me for not doing my work quickly. So I told him I can't concentrate on anything where everybody is chatting all the time and I had no more energy left trying not to hear the other guys. He was mad but relocated me to an empty room.

Oh my, how different it was! I managed to close all the tasks quite quickly and then was regularly asking the manager for something to do because I had nothing left.

And I understood one more thing. I was working on some old code and as I was going through it I was seeing that I actually was there before once. Many things were shown and explained to me but I forgot most of them because the distractions in the former office effectively prevented me from dwelling on those things.

Noisy room is a killer for mental job like ours. If you want a person not to produce any results, put him there.

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About headphones. I have one of those namely Sennheiser PXC450. Like many others of the kind they only cut out lower frequencies (under 1 KHz), like ambient noise from the street, partially engine work, printers, servers, fans etc. But they let through middle and upper frequencies. Human talks are usually in the 5-8 KHz range. So, you cannot have your noise cancelling headphones cut out speech. Obviously the processors used in such headphones are incapable of counteracting higher frequencies (generating a mirrored counterwave) without being clocked up. But that would have a drastic effect on the battery life.

Answer 15

I had the same problem. I couldn't leave my cube to schedule meeting by myself as I need to be available. The white noise was not enough. I looked at bose and they were nice but to pricey. I looked at a LOT of midrange headphones with active noise cancelling and found the Panasonic RP-HC500 to be an excellent set of headphones. They do a good job of silencing even without the active cancellation turned on. Sound quality is really amazing. And they're only $85.

Highly recommended! "Bose quality at a fraction of the price!"