from Hacker News

How do engineers working in open space without getting distracted?

by hipaulshi on 12/29/14, 1:12 PM with 2 comments

How do coders/engineers working in co-working/open space without getting distracted (mainly) by people/co-workers?

I am serious because it is now a big problem for us since our space was originally designed to be as open as possible. Thanks~

  • by angrymouse on 12/29/14, 1:31 PM

    Noise cancelling headphones is something a lot of people use.

    Angle your desk/screen away from other people's eyelines or things that distract you. One place I worked I was right in front of the kitchen area and that was very distracting. I moved towards a window and that was better because the seagulls didn't tend to distract me.

    Another thing I love is a standing desk. I can work in my busy kitchen at home and grab enough focus while a million things are buzzing standing up at a laptop. Don't know when, but realized that and now I prefer to have a dual standing/non-standing desk in open offices as well.

    Naturally, that can be a bit awkward in an open space so you have to make sure you're not then distracting everyone else.