

Less interruptions for developers with offline hours - fabric8
http://www.git-tower.com/blog/increase-productivity-with-offline-hours/

======
henrik_w
Not all interruptions are created equal though. There are cases when
interruptions should be tolerated. If someone is working on a problem (a
tester, a support engineer, or another developer), and has a question I know
the answer to off the top of my head, I’m fine with being interrupted.

Sure, my productivity takes a hit, but we should optimize for the company’s
productivity, not only my productivity. If one (or several) other people in
the company would be stalled, it’s better to ask me and get the answer in one
minute, than to wait for an hour or two, or to dig around for an answer in the
code or in the documentation.

From my blog post "Programmer Productivity – Interruptions, Meetings and
Working Remotely" [http://henrikwarne.com/2013/04/02/programmer-productivity-
in...](http://henrikwarne.com/2013/04/02/programmer-productivity-
interruptions-meetings-and-working-remotely/)

------
patatino
Sometimes I would really like to turn my internet connection off to get things
done, but as a web developer it's quite impossible.

A few weeks ago I had no internet at home. It was great. Not having the
possibility and not using it are two different pair of shoes.

------
onezeno
Fewer interruptions

------
SubuSS
I agree with henrik_w below. Experienced/Senior engineers lose a lot of their
potency if they go dark during office hours. It is a criminal waste to let
developers lurch around trying to solve a known problem. Managing distractions
is a major part of growing as an engineer.

I don't encourage people pinging me for trivial stuff that they can find by
themselves though. First few times I go with documentation links / google
links, escalate to lmgtfy and finally I give direct feedback.

------
graeme
If you work from home, you can replicate this by unplugging your wi-fi router.
Freedom software works too, but I find the physical disconnecting helps make
it real.

I get a lot of writing done this way, and there's no need to rely on willpower
to avoid checking the internet.

Caveat: If other internet addicted people will be in your house while you
work, they will not appreciate this solution....

~~~
commixon
When you're a web developer sometimes this is a little bit hard. However
unplugging your wifi-router could work great when trying a new framework or
something, when you don't have to commit changes and stuff, just test
something new.

------
colanderman
I found the linked-to "study" (not sure why scare quotes were used) to be more
in-depth: [http://blog.ninlabs.com/2013/01/programmer-
interrupted/](http://blog.ninlabs.com/2013/01/programmer-interrupted/)

------
strikespeed
FTA "Mornings are for quiet, uninterrupted, and focused work. No emails, no
chat, no calls until lunch break." I would agree with that. But how do I solve
my addiction to chat? I feel naked when I go offline...

~~~
tobidobi
It's definitely not easy. And you'll fall back into old, bad habits from time
to time. But going through with it as completely as possible can really make a
difference for you productivity.

~~~
strikespeed
Ok, I will give it a go. The distractions from Chat are huge when coding. But
I just have to look if I see a new chat pop up. So the only option is to bite
the bullet and turn it off I suppose.

