> One thing that sometimes helps me with interruptions is using 5-10 seconds. That is, when someone comes I just ask for 10 seconds, I make a gesture or simply say "10 seconds" or whatever, and then proceed to sort of "unload". I write down the precise point I am at and the exact upcoming action I was going to take.
This is what I do, as well.
Interruptions used to frustrate me to no end. I found it very rude to be interrupted, especially when I was so obviously busy with my very important things.
Now I have 3 children under 3 years of age. Interruptions are the name of this game. And I've come to realize that the work or whatever really isn't that damned important, either.
So, as long as there isn't an emergency, I acknowledge the person/people doing the interrupting and then take notes in a pocket notebook.
> Sorry for the negative take here but how it's written it feels like you don't necessarily realize that some people do need deep work, and prioritize your quick satisfaction to other's focus.
I'm always confused by people who struggle so much with being able to quickly answer a question and get back to what they were doing.
Also, here you're prioritising your work over someone else's.
> I simply can't stand incessantly being asked questions, I view it as a type of interruption
Well, you are being interrupted. But you're being paid to be interrupted.
> I think people who assume that sitting with headphones on all the time means they should never be 'disturbed' are being a bit uncharitable.
I stop feeling charitable when I start missing deadlines and can't get any work done because of constant interruptions.
Is there a more clear way that I can signal I need fewer interruptions than a closed door and headphones? Just a couple hours each day without being interrupted would be great.
> I would very much like to do what you say but with a million interrupts a day, it is now or never.
The secret is to not be interrupted. If you're already reading the text, you might as well go and answer.
If you want to change something you will need to stop being interrupted (close the IM window, put your phone on silent, ...) and check once you have time. If you don't have time for a while, possibly give it a quick skim in case something important happened.
Things will always slip through the cracks. If you attend every interruption, it will once in a while interrupt an interruption itself and you're at status quo. At worst, put things on a todo list.
> Interrupting prioritizes a false sense of efficiency and just seems like weak impulse control or a bad short-term memory. Every interrupter I've ever met is disorganized and unreliable
While I have noticed that ADHD people gravitate towards interrupters, and are more likely to be disorganized and unreliable, generalizing this to all interrupters is absurd.
Everybody in my mom's family is an interpreter, including my mom. You will meet few people more organized and reliable than her.
> The frustrating thing about external interruptions is the inability to control them. [...] The good news for these internal interruptions is that it should be much easier to control them.
Interestingly, I feel the exact opposite. I'm aware that it's not always possible or socially acceptable to do so, but at least in theory you can always make a choice to ignore or tune out other people. Ignoring the stuff that is going on in your own head is IMHO much harder.
> you embrace it, escalate or forward it to the correct people, and then go back to what else you have to do.
How would you maintain this habit in a world where:
1) Time is limited.
2) Context-switching has a high time cost (see “manager time vs maker time”).
3) Communication takes effort. Describing issues conherently takes at least 15 minutes of focused time.
4) “Noticing an issue” is an event which happens at least 4x per hour? This includes seeing an alert come in via your error-reporting infra and determining if it is or is not spurious.
Your attention would be jerked this way and that. If you are in the process of reporting one issue and see another issue, do you report that first or second? How do you find time to defrag your working memory and to focus on your original task for the day?
We live in a tremendously noisy world.
Without a commitment to focus for 2 hours and ignore things other than your current task, How do you accomplish anything?
Glad you're able to do that. Personally for me, it's really hard.
When I'm in the middle of deep coding session, if someone interrupts me, it feels literally like she wakes me up in the middle of the night.
If you're sleeping, and someone wakes you up and asks some question, or tells a story, can you always get back sleeping again afterwards? Personally, I fail at this completely.
And for me, it's very similar with development: after even a little distraction, it might take a lot of time for me to restore the context again.
I know there are people (a very few of my friends) that can fall asleep almost immediately after getting into bed. So, maybe there are people that can handle development distractions equally well!
Author here: My intention wasn't to whine or anything. In fact, 2 of the 4 tips I gave was how I protect against interruptions from myself.
The comments have inspired me to write a follow up, titled something like "My number one source of interruptions is myself", and maybe it'll avoid the mess of flame.
"The cost of an interruption is not just the time it takes, but that it breaks the time on either side in half. You probably only have to interrupt someone a couple times a day before they're unable to work on hard problems at all." -- PG
> Also, efficiency is not everything. We are not computers that can just chug away on tasks infinitely. Any non trivial work, you won't be able to finish in one sitting. Some interruptions are inevitable and healthy and whatever methodology, you will lose some progress on the way and have to rework things. And it's also about priorities in life. Is the work-related, unfinished task really important / interesting enough to get stuck in your head outside of work hours? Maybe the problem is not getting interrupted, but ability to interrupt yourself and separate different aspects of life.
Ha, that's an apt way to put it. It seems to me as well that we aren't living in the information age insomuch as we are living in the interruption age.
> we need to feel certainty that we will not be distracted.
This, so, much. Working from home with a kid around, it always feels like something's gonna fall, the cat is gonna fight back, mom is gonna get mad at him for some reason, or simply he needs me to go play with him. I never know if I have 5 minutes or 3 hours.
Nowadays I tend to not work so much during the day as I don't have the means to focus, then work into the night.
>>Also if I am using a tablet doing email or browsing or even playing games, 10 seconds is plenty of time
> That's a bit better from an alertness standpoint
How do you know?
Subjective measurement of time is very inaccurate. I have experienced this, when I timed some regular activities I undertook every day, total habit. I would have said they took me ten seconds. When I timed them, it was forty five seconds.
I have no faith in anybodies' perception of how long they can switch context like this unless they have objectively measured it
This is what I do, as well.
Interruptions used to frustrate me to no end. I found it very rude to be interrupted, especially when I was so obviously busy with my very important things.
Now I have 3 children under 3 years of age. Interruptions are the name of this game. And I've come to realize that the work or whatever really isn't that damned important, either.
So, as long as there isn't an emergency, I acknowledge the person/people doing the interrupting and then take notes in a pocket notebook.
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