4 ms·

Why not "Distractions cause bad work". Why do people assume these types of articles are unique to programming?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
mey 8y ago
Its an anecdotal article, the author doesn't have to apply their experiences to all domains. For a broader/scientific article on open space related distractions https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/07/18/open-office-plans-are-bad-you-thought/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/07/18/open-offi...
- hyperpape 8y ago
  One of the studies mentioned in that article argues that in an open office, individuals use more electronic communications, fewer face to face communication. Arguably that's fewer distractions, not more.
  - inetknght 8y ago
    > Arguably that's fewer distractions I'd argue that you're wrong. What's the difference between getting distracted by a physical interruption or an electronic interruption? One's physical and one's electronic. They're both still distractions.
    - hyperpape 8y ago
      Admittedly, it depends on your configurations (edit: and social norms where you work). But email and Slack are both potentially asynchronous. A coworker talking is not.
      - marcosdumay 8y ago
        The notification GUI opening up in front of the element you was going to click isn't any asynchronous.
        hyperpape 8y ago
        I said "depending on your configurations". I have email set to pop up on my phone every 30 minutes. I have slack set to never send me a notification except for an @here or direct reply to me. These settings work decently for my current role. The one major hole is that the slack icon shows a red dot whenever I use ⌘-tab to switch apps, and the red dot appears on non-essential slacks that I'd rather not read so frequently. I'm aware that some people have unreasonable bosses who freak out when emails aren't answered faster. But clueless bosses will be clueless in any medium.
maxxxxx 8y ago
I think programming is definitely more prone to have bad problems with distractions. Some problems may take days, weeks or months of focused work to develop a mental model. I think a lot of other functions don't require this long time focus. They are done in smaller chunks.
- NikolaeVarius 8y ago
  More prone than what? Actuaries updating excel spreadsheets? Engineers doing CAD work. Woodworkers making a cupboard? The scope of "a lot of other functions" seems very limited.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    Marketing people working on strategies, sales people making phone calls, managers planning something, maintenance people replacing something. Lots more.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

mey 8y ago

Its an anecdotal article, the author doesn't have to apply their experiences to all domains. For a broader/scientific article on open space related distractions https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/07/18/open-office-plans-are-bad-you-thought/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/07/18/open-offi...

hyperpape 8y ago
One of the studies mentioned in that article argues that in an open office, individuals use more electronic communications, fewer face to face communication. Arguably that's fewer distractions, not more.
- inetknght 8y ago
  > Arguably that's fewer distractions I'd argue that you're wrong. What's the difference between getting distracted by a physical interruption or an electronic interruption? One's physical and one's electronic. They're both still distractions.
  - hyperpape 8y ago
    Admittedly, it depends on your configurations (edit: and social norms where you work). But email and Slack are both potentially asynchronous. A coworker talking is not.
    - marcosdumay 8y ago
      The notification GUI opening up in front of the element you was going to click isn't any asynchronous.
      - hyperpape 8y ago
        I said "depending on your configurations". I have email set to pop up on my phone every 30 minutes. I have slack set to never send me a notification except for an @here or direct reply to me. These settings work decently for my current role. The one major hole is that the slack icon shows a red dot whenever I use ⌘-tab to switch apps, and the red dot appears on non-essential slacks that I'd rather not read so frequently. I'm aware that some people have unreasonable bosses who freak out when emails aren't answered faster. But clueless bosses will be clueless in any medium.

maxxxxx 8y ago

I think programming is definitely more prone to have bad problems with distractions. Some problems may take days, weeks or months of focused work to develop a mental model. I think a lot of other functions don't require this long time focus. They are done in smaller chunks.

NikolaeVarius 8y ago
More prone than what? Actuaries updating excel spreadsheets? Engineers doing CAD work. Woodworkers making a cupboard? The scope of "a lot of other functions" seems very limited.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  Marketing people working on strategies, sales people making phone calls, managers planning something, maintenance people replacing something. Lots more.