
Ask HN: Being productive in a startup environment with little personal space? - lonelycoder2
How do you stay productive while working in an open office layout with constant audio and visual distractions?<p>Noise cancelling headphones can block out the audio but with people just moving around all day the peripheral vision picks up a lot.
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mchannon
Frequently open offices have offices with doors for general use, or conference
rooms; if there are hours those spaces are not in use, those are probably
hours you could use them.

Stepping out into the front hallway (but still within range of the wifi) and
sitting crosslegged on the floor outside can sometimes work.

There's also underneath your workspace, George Costanza-style. Be sure your
coworkers are aware in advance, why, and ok with it, as some might get the
wrong idea of why you're down there.

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zzgo
I'll crank up the brightness on my monitor and wear sunglasses with my noise
cancelling headphones. Yeah, I get weird looks and comments, but it helps me
filter out peripheral distractions when I'm trying to concentrate.

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mbrock
Go somewhere else. If someone asks why, explain that open office environments
are known to harm concentration and flow for many people, and that in order to
be maximally productive you choose to work elsewhere for some hours.

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bapbap
It may not be possible but you could ask if a small part of the office (in the
corner or more secluded) could be earmarked as a concentration "zone".

It's not for people to sit there all day every day and take up residence in
this area, it's for when you need to do something that requires concentration
and those around are doing the same i.e. no phone calls, no conversations, no
eating snacks, like a library really. If you need to do any of those things,
you find yourself a spot in the rest of the office.

Failing that, it's either get used to it, try and find the quietest spot you
can, or ask if you can work from home/elsewhere.

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chris_7
Why not have a "loud zone" off in some corner instead? Why are the people that
want to focus required to do it on a tiny laptop screen instead of their giant
monitors?

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HD142245b
Work from home when you need to actually get stuff done :). Don't ask, just do
it.

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codeonfire
Quit the company or get some cardboard to put around your workstation.

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closeparen
2x 27" monitors + my Macbook. My whole field of vision is my workstation, and
I'm extremely lucky to have my back to a wall (well, glass wall of a rarely
used conference room).

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joezydeco
Is there room to put up a camping tent?

