I think are some differences here: 1. In a coffee shop almost no-one comes to me uninvited to ask a question about my work or our product that will create a 30

I think are some differences here: 1. In a coffee shop almost no-one comes to me uninvited to ask a question about my work or our product that will create a 30 minute interruption 2. The background noise in a coffee shop has not relation to the product/company I work for this it becomes much more similar with the wind or rain - our brains can really adapt and ignore it While in open office the flow can be interrupted by a friendly face passing by and waving, by someone speaking out loud about a project related to what you are working on or by someone drawing a diagram of something you know. In a sense all these are picking your attention as they are related to your interest. But more important is that in a coffee place 99% of time you pick your interruption: ordering something or chatting with someone while in an open office the distraction comes at random times.