Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work

Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by Cthulhu_ on Friday May 08, 2015 @07:50AM (#9511009)

For me personally it's not so much incoming notifications that distract me, but my colleagues. We're a small team of iOS and Android developers (about seven people total), and there's an almost constant buzz of random activities about various subjects - 90% of which are not directly relevant to me, but sometimes they are.

Plus I have a colleague that Demands I Look At His Code Now from time to time. On the one side I want to indulge him, on the other - could you wait until I'm not in the middle of something? Or not show me an update every five minutes? The headphones are there for a reason.

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Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by ciriarte on Friday May 08, 2015 @09:38AM (#9511619)

I have the same issue. In general, coworkers are my main distraction, and it could be for many reasons:

- I also have a coworker that "Demands I Look At His Code Now". And, in general, he demands attention.

- Sometimes it is not time, but emotional. I don't know why but a lot of people come to me to discuss personal issues, or issues at work. I want to help or at least listen, but it is difficult to get anything done if each one of them steals 20 min or more. I feel horrible when I have to terminate the conversation abruptly because I have stuff to do.

- A few of my coworkers like just to be in my office when I am coding or fixing an issue. I think this would be extremely boring for me, but some people like to see how I solve problems. I feel flattered and enjoy the company, but it can get stressful when it is more than one person at a time. I guess it is a blessing and a curse.

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Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by ohitsdom on Friday May 08, 2015 @08:44AM (#9511259)

I think there are a lot of ways you can help out the "look at my code now" guy. Even a simple "give me a few minutes to finish up what I'm working on" could go a long way. If you do it regularly enough, it should be a constant reminder to him that you have work too and he may start asking you to look "when you are free".

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Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by roskilli on Friday May 08, 2015 @10:05AM (#9511774)

I'm not usually a guy that asks for a code review to be done directly by pinging the reviewers, but I've found on certain projects there are colleagues who will unfortunately _never_ review any diffs I have with them listed even as the sole reviewers until I ask them.

This is unfortunate but means that I fall behind by however long I don't ask them to review my code for :( Others are great and I don't have to ping them directly and they can tell how urgent a review is or isn't usually.

Not commenting specifically on any situations discussed here but just realizing I do sit on the other side of the fence from time to time.

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Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by ohitsdom on Friday May 08, 2015 @10:21AM (#9511852)

Good point. I certainly have a long backlog of changes waiting for review from others. I suspect that's more of a flaw in my current job's review process though.

I do think there's plenty of room to ping colleagues with a "hey, don't forget about that code review" before you become the "stop what you're doing and look at my code" guy.

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Re:Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work by WalterSear on Friday May 08, 2015 @11:39AM (#9512276)

We use slack. When we want someone's attention, we send them a private message. It sits there until they are ready to deal with it, or they respond, setting up a time to meet.

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