You can definitely get better at it. I've been working for the last year at an open office (before that I was in college), and it took me 2 or 3 months to be ab

You can definitely get better at it. I've been working for the last year at an open office (before that I was in college), and it took me 2 or 3 months to be able to 'turn off' the conversations around me for long periods of time. Before that I would get distracted by nearby conversations and lose my focus. And as a side effect, my ability to read books on the subway without losing focus also improved gradually.