Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptions (2014)

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by phkahler on Friday July 09, 2021 @04:53PM (#27788368)

>> If you ask them if that will work, they'll tell you they need the answer immediately most of the time.

The question "Will that work" is optional. You need to be polite when dismissing someone, but the goal here is to offer 2 messages "I'm busy now" and "I'll get to you as soon as this busyness passes" The discussion needs to end as quickly as possible so as to not lose your focus, but also without making them angry. Asking questions in that case is probably a bad idea.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by throwawaygh on Saturday July 10, 2021 @01:31AM (#27791355)

I just close the door.

The few times in my career when I haven't had a door I could close, I did all of my deep work from home and only came into the office for meetings (which I compressed into 1-2 days).

The delicate social dynamics described in these threads sound incredibly expensive. I can't imagine paying someone a quarter or half million dollars and then draining away their productivity on this sort of thing.

[ Parent | on HN ]