I've become a Cal Newport fan and I'd recommend you read at least some of his blog (http://calnewport.com/blog/ http://calnewport.com/blog/) or his book (Deep W

I've become a Cal Newport fan and I'd recommend you read at least some of his blog (http://calnewport.com/blog/ http://calnewport.com/blog/) or his book (Deep Work) since he'll be able to explain things much better than I can. In knowledge work, it's important (for most people) to get into deep focus to solve hard problems. Anecdotally I've seen huge gains by setting aside an 1:30 in the morning to WFH completely disconnected and then another 1:30 in the afternoon to hide away from my open work area. It's incorrect to claim that development of soft skills is at odds with the ability to get into a state of deep work with offices and / or working from home. As for your question about being hard to focus on some work, yes it definitely is. I'd recommend you look into attention residue. In addition, I'm afraid your perception of your own possible output is probably much less than what you're actually capable of because you've learned to live with constant distraction. If you can't go more than an hour without checking email/texts/talking to coworkers/being interrupted, I'd argue that (as a knowledge worker), you're operating well below your capabilities.