Ask HN: How do you focus at work? Ambient noise generators like mynoise and noisli have been a great help in getting dev and documentation work done amidst noisy workplaces. What about you? Is there anyone out there who doesnt need noise cancellation headphones or ambient noise generators to get focus intensive work done? |
I've never used white noise or headphones to improve focus, and it's rare that co-workers ever use headphones.
So maybe investigate whether the problem is you or the office. Or if you really understand what you're being paid to do - I can write documentation and diagrams effortlessly.
But it is normal. When there are noises and distractions all around your desk, of course it's hard to focus.
It's also normal to be able to drown all those things out, and completely zone it out and focus on work.
It's also normal to thrive on activity, getting your best work done in a busy environment.
It really depends on the kind of work you are doing, and the kind of person you are. There is a wide spectrum of what is "normal".
There is a simple reason that libraries/exam rooms/lecture halls are not full of distraction. People focus better without distraction.
I know this will be down-voted, but I've been having issues focussing at work and completing projects for the last 10 years or so.
Visited a Psychiatrist (in Palo Alto). After listening to my situation, she followed it up with a detailed Q & A. She then prescribed 5 mg XR (extended release) of Adderall. Apparently "mild ADHD" is a thing with software engineers in their 30s and up...
The difference has been night and day. I'm completely focussed now, in the zone. I've even gotten side-projects that were languishing for many years, done and shipped over 2 weekends!
I take it only on days I need to focus and get something done. I also take weekends off and also take 1 week per month completely off. This keeps me from building tolerance. Also 5 mg Addy is like the LOWEST dose dispensed, so I feel ok with it.
Its been around for a while but compared to dexmethylphenidate, or Adderall proper, it doesnt have as much of the euphoria that makes it difficult to objectively assess work output, what with the slower acting formulation (but this seems kind of a given, since its a prodrug after all), it doesnt completely change your personality and you can more effectively context switch
edit: i have a perscription, due to attention span of a drosophilia melanogaster
Do you get good sleep with Vyvanse? The only -ve side effect I'm feeling from 5 mg XR Addy is that I fall asleep somewhat late (like mid-night or later) and wake up a couple of times, and get only 7 hours of sleep. Don't have headaches though, but I would love to get a deep sleep while on it.
I've tried other caffeine heavy weight loss supplements with greentea and stuff, but apparently the key is (i believe) Caffeine + l-theanine. Together that helps with focus, I generally feel better if I can keep my Vitamin D up as well, as that's linked to depression and I'm deficient because of weight loss surgery.
Note: I do not use Xenadrine as a weight loss supplement, only for the energy aspects and not on a regular basis, only when I feel I have 0 chance of focusing and really need that boost.
Just do an experiment. Teach your grandfather or anyone from previous generation who used to be a hard-worker in his entire life. Teach him how to use an smartphone, social network, watching Netflix TV shows, reading online news anytime, and checking timeline of his friends and families..
After 3 months he will end up having same problems that you have. Distractions, feeling busy, demotivated, procrastination, eventually feeling super tired almost always.
It is not really ADHD, It is just life style in 99.9999999%. And trust me. The fact that you came here to ask this question means you don't have ADHD or anything similar.
We always hear and read most of the good advises. But they are so simple that we ignore them. And in general people are just lazy and try hard to not be self-disciplined. Instead they are looking for a pill, anything that help them effortlessly with quick results.
I have a few habits but you have to do it at least for a week to see the benefits.
- Write my goals and tasks. - Light exercise in the morning. - Pomodoro + Pair programming during the work when I need maximum performance. - Prepare my stuff before going to bed. Don't leave a lot of work left to prepare in the morning (what to wear, what to put in the backpack). The rule is to burn least amount of mental energy as possible in the morning. - Leave meetings at any point that I realize my presence is not useful for me or anyone else. - Running away from noise. - Don't read any news/social-network in the morning or in the evening. It will kill your day if you read news in the morning and it doesn't let you save energy if you read news on evening. News is just toxic. You don't realize how much mental overhead will add to your brain all these negative news around you. The only time I read news is after lunch, in the afternoon while my brain cares least about it. You can't believe how effective is this.
20mg XR caused me to have long term memory loss due to REM sleep disturbance, which caused both work issues AND personal relationship issues, so I had to downgrade. Sadly those 30lbs I lost while on 20, came right back...
The 5 mg IR (Instant Release) did leave my a little shaky, and I also felt 'high' as opposed to feeling focused. I also felt the 'come down' you mention.
You should try the Adderall XR (Extended Release). Shire, the company that made the original Adderall IR, sold it's IR forumula and now in many ADD forums, people are complaining about the efficacy, salt concentrations etc. The Adderall IR are now manufactured in India, and the Pharma has standing FDA complains against it w.r.t. Quality Control, salt composition and concentration etc.
Shire makes the XR version now. You should try it if your doc can prescribe it for you. My Psychiatrist had me try the IR and then the XR in the lowest possible dose i.e. 5 mg, and it works for me.
Like I said, if you do end up on the Addy XR, do take complete breaks every few weeks. This helps with not developing tolerance, and staying with the lowest does, which will, in turn, keep side effects and long term changes (if any) to an acceptable level :)
Here in the UK it takes about 6 months, has to be an adhd specialist, they go through every piece of medical history you have, school reports, cognitive tests, parent interview's.
It's very easy to get distracted by things in my environment and on my screen, and just seeing a sign in my line of vision that says something like "making redlines for mobile screens" helps me re-focus.
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Edited to add: the task needs to be something specific, not an abstract like "doing UX work." I take advantage of Asana's sub-tasks to try and break down all my work into the most robot-like steps possible. That keeps me focused on the task itself, instead of figuring out what my next step is.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-walking-throu...
The best way I've ever been able to explain my thought process is as a branching tree, in which the trunk is the primary focus and the branches are the wandering paths that I think of along the way. Unmedicated I cannot help but only suggest where to think, but when medicated I can choose.
Luckily I can make my own hours or else I can't really manage much social interaction without needing to leave.
I normally queue up a station on Digitally Imported [0], but I do find myself getting distracted if I recognize a song I like, or when the ads come on. I'll give this a shot and see how I like it :)
But seriously, I try and psychotically keep Jira updated. It probably drives the PM crazy, but it's very satisfying to see your progress grow, and especially satisfying to close a ticket.
I work for 25 minutes at a time then take 5 minute breaks. This is more to help me start getting into flow. I know I don't do it right, but I'll start the pomodoro and that's my minimum. If I'm really into what I'm working on I'll see my time is up and commit to an additional work cycle or two.
It also helps me track what I'm working on and how long each task takes me. And gives me set breaks in which I get to write comments on HN, like this one :-)
Slack notifications and all in browser notifications off.
That combined with proper away messaging on Slack/IM, you should be able to get focused chunks of time
2) An excellent automatic-time-tracker app, the transparency into your own habits is life-changing: https://www.rescuetime.com/
3) NC headphones: Sony WH1000XM2 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074KDJVS2/ref=oh_aui_se... ORRRR apple's AirPods
Turns out that my blood pressure was through the roof. I fixed that and I can focus again.
I genuinely hope that your blood pressure is fine, but seriously, if this is a new thing, it might be a good idea to see a doctor for a checkup. From experience, it's far better to catch blood pressure early than when you end up in a cardiac unit...
What was a distraction in my case was internet browsing. This got solved by having a dedicated tablet for all sorts of non-essential browsing, and the work computers never having anything but work-related links.
You'd think that's not going to matter, but the little bit of friction that created was enough.
I also like to listen to video game music via rainwave.cc (OCRemix Radio basically), Bandcamp, or (this may be strange) the classic Retronauts podcasts (still available on Archive.org, not the new ones).
I find it hard to work from my small apartment, whether family is around or not, music or no music.
I forget the term but I think it has to do with the fact that I use this same room to watch TV, play video games, sleep, and eat meals. My desk and bed are only inches apart.
Many people also find the physical feeling of anything covering / touching / inside their ear to be too uncomfortable to focus, ruling out all possibilities of headphones, earbuds or earplugs from consideration. And even more, lots of people have sensitivity to music that distracts them or makes them feel tired very quickly. And in severe enough cases, someone can have full-blown misophonia, and truly need the ability to completely customize their workspace in order to totally control all sounds during periods when they need to focus.
I know your advice might help some people, but I really wish there was a way en masse that developers could communicate that headphones absolutely do not solve the problems created by open-plan office layouts (one of the main destroyers of focus). It's sad that as a collection of workers, we've allowed ourselves to be put into this position by not demanding private offices and turning down jobs that won't provide such a cost-effective tool.
This would benefit everyone as open plans destroy productivity. The "free market" (oligopoly) has obviously failed here so the state needs to step in.
My current setup involves in-ear monitors (Massdrop x MEE Audio Pinnacle PX IEM) plus gigantic 3M Peltor X5A earmuffs on top of them [1].
I look ridiculous wearing the 3M Peltor X5A but it sends a strong message that I don't want to be disturbed, and they do a much better job than the Bose headphones at blocking human voices.
I have read that an alternative is to wear headphones on top of in-ear monitors, playing music on the IEMs and white noise on the headphones. This is the setup for Starcraft II professional gamers in tournament settings, for example.
[1] pic: https://pics.dllu.net/file/dllu-pics/20180716_151629.jpg
Though keep in mind that they remove noise, so things like fans are going to be gone, but they aren't made to shut everything out.
Much like how interleaved learning is a key trick to use to deeply learn subject matter, I've found interleaving a diverse set of activities has been key to finding that physical "balance" - human body itself is more than sophisticated enough to handle the self regulation itself but without the right component inputs your jets aren't going to be running at peak performance
I think creating a specification that office workers must be given a certain measurable protection against general workplace noise and a certain minimum of private floorspace in which to work, would be quite reasonable.
I wonder if a change.org petition or something would be worthwhile.
What? My earphones are $15. What do $120 headphones do to deserve being 8 times more expensive?
until you try them, you wouldn't understand.
and yes, that is cheap considering that NC headphones typically go for $299 and up
