Be cautious of headphones. They're a very popular solution (and an easy thing to look for when interviewing), but there's some evidence that they're a bad idea.

Be cautious of headphones. They're a very popular solution (and an easy thing to look for when interviewing), but there's some evidence that they're a bad idea. I would have to look up the exact reference, but in Peopleware they mention a study that found that software engineers lost a lot of creativity when they wore headphones. In the study, most of the students wearing the headphones didn't notice that they exercise that they were doing was useless; in spite of it's apparent complexity, it left the input data completely unchanged. Most of the group not wearing headphones noticed this. Flexible hours can work really well; most offices are blissfully quiet at 4am. Also the lights can be off! Reserving a conference room for a few hours is great. You don't even have to be alone; a small group who are all working on the same thing at the same time can be immensely productive this way. Here's a good example: http://rachelbythebay.com/w/2011/08/24/projectdarkness/ http://rachelbythebay.com/w/2011/08/24/projectdarkness/. Basically, find all the ways you can exert some control over your environment and use them.