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Re:The art of interrupting software engineers by disappearance on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @09:09AM (#20564455)
I'll often go for a walk when facing a troublesome problem and return with an arbitrarily Complex model in my head.

It would be an inconvenient time for an interruption, and probably looks quite a lot like returning from a break.

Re:The art of interrupting software engineers by pflenker on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @09:12AM (#20564477)
I just wanted to make the point that waiting for someone to return from a break before talking to them can be considered polite, instead of an impolite ambush as indicated in the previous comment. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-it-all solution.
Re:The art of interrupting software engineers by mugsie on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @11:55AM (#20566098)
There is - schedule a meeting (even if it is a 15 min "sync") the day before, so I know I have a context switch coming up.
Re:The art of interrupting software engineers by pflenker on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:43PM (#20566599)
In my experience, that is not an acceptable solution for everyone. I have worked with people who despise these kinds of scheduled short meeting, because "we are sitting in the same office and can always talk to each other".

That having said, my personal preference is also the scheduled 15 minute meeting.