For me, I think, the primary reason an open office often doesn't work (I say 'often' because sometimes it does) is that being physically and visibly present see

For me, I think, the primary reason an open office often doesn't work (I say 'often' because sometimes it does) is that being physically and visibly present seems to signal that you are available for answering sporadic queries from others. Interruptions are hard to entertain when your work demands focused time-chunks. No one knows me (enough to disturb me) at a coffee-shop. I can tune out conversations, even if the participants are people I know. A good headset comes in handy too. I agree with the article in that some noise level helps. In fact I'd go so far as to say occasional human interactions help - it has the effect of drawing your mind out of the details of a problem and drop it back in from a high altitude (when you re-engage after the interaction), which is a process that aids problem-solving. Fun anecdotal "evidence": there was this exam I was preparing for, for months, and then my brother informed me that he will be coming down for a month-long visit. I told myself immediately that the duration of his stay is going to be all about damage-control; we're going to spend a lot of time together, so I won't be able to put in a lot of hours, which of course means my productivity would drop. A couple of months later after the visit, when I was assessing how much I got done in which month - guess which one ended up at the top - the month my brother visited! While the no of hrs had dropped, the "density" of work had gone up.