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Ask HN: Being productive in a startup environment with little personal space?

12 points by lonelycoder2 ↗ HN
How do you stay productive while working in an open office layout with constant audio and visual distractions?

Noise cancelling headphones can block out the audio but with people just moving around all day the peripheral vision picks up a lot.

9 comments

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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.

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?
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.

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.
codeonfire
Quit the company or get some cardboard to put around your workstation.
joezydeco
Is there room to put up a camping tent?
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).
HD142245b
Work from home when you need to actually get stuff done :). Don't ask, just do it.
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.