I don’t have one nearby (Coimbatore, South India) but I will try working at the mall here, see if the background noise and activity of people milling about can have a similar effect. Bret Victor mentioned working while travelling on trains for a year as a “wandering hobo”, perhaps he has the same trouble as we do and the presence of people helped him focus.

Judging from your experience as well as Bret’s, not working alone seems to be the key factor. I wonder why that is the case, but the mall idea is worth a try, thanks for the inspiration!