It was a position at a small call-center with an easy commute and a short training period. They signed up all comers at the front desk: we needed a pulse, ID, and authorization to work in the US.

So the training began. The system was run entirely on these amber Unix terminals that hadn't changed since 1975. We were tasked with political fundraising, cold-calling individuals at home. Just follow the script. The training just taught us how to operate the terminal and follow the script in real time.

During breaks, I was able to scope out the actual call center floor with people at work, and workers would step just outside to have a smoke or chill out. My training room had 12-15 new recruits in it. Once we got into the live calling part of training, I realized that I was completely unsuited for the job.

We needed to hold a conversation over an ordinary headset while a dozen other people were jabbering similar conversations, and my brain was just not designed to do this. That was the main objection I had. It is a common experience for most people to be called from a noisy call-center, and whoever is capable of handling voice calls amidst all that cacophony is a better man/woman than I am.

I had a WFH job that began during the pandemic lockdowns and I was able to hold it for 4 years. The best thing about WFH was the lack of noise and the focus I could achieve just comfortably sitting at my own desk. The worst part was the distractability that developed because it was my own kitchen, my own bathroom, my own domain that held every comfort apart from work. I finally discovered that I really couldn't sit still, even for an hour, and I kept compulsively leaving my post. That wasn't good for an hourly job!

The best time I had at school was just pre-pandemic. A few classes were online or hybrid, and most were in-person. But doing my homework was best accomplished not at home, but somewhere at school. I could sit in the library, or the coffeehouse, where even the computers were provided. Being "at school" to do schoolwork was a very effective method of focusing and avoiding the distractions of home.

Not being interrupted all the time was a huge part of it

Having peace and quiet to focus on a task was another huge part

I never want to work in an open office bullpen ever again. Maybe that works for some people, maybe it works for some professions, but I don't think it works for deep work like writing software

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/07/revealed-how-s...

[1] https://usa.inquirer.net/files/2025/01/AP25022455612199-scal...