This barrier is even less of an imposition now that we have intra-office IM as the norm. If someone is in their office with the door closed, drop them an IM tha

This barrier is even less of an imposition now that we have intra-office IM as the norm. If someone is in their office with the door closed, drop them an IM that they can read and act on when they're finished with what they're doing. Maybe it matters less for non-programmers, but even a brief unexpected distraction can undo multiple minutes of mental effort for me. When I need to focus, the headphones go on, the door gets closed, and I intentionally erect barriers to interaction because it's important that I not be distracted. That closed door is a feature, not a bug.