[zimpenfish]

> messaging and social media [are] nasty distractions [that] will destroy productivity and focus

I have talkative people behind me, CTO to my left (on the phone a fair bit), sysadmins to my right (frequently desk-meeting with people), and a row of project managers over the minimal partition. Trust me when I say that there are far bigger problems for some people's focus than messaging and social media.

[cweagans]

A good, noise cancelling headset has been one of my best investments - and I'm not talking about one of the nice looking $50 models from Best Buy. I'm talking about something in the $200-300 price point - high end gaming headsets are particularly nice for a number of reasons, but anything will do.

It seems like a lot of money, but if it triples your productivity while in the office (and I'd recommend measuring it with something like RescueTime - if the headset doesn't help your productivity significantly, you can always return it), it's worth it.

[hanniabu]

Can confirm, always was skeptical when I heard people say this, but I borrowed my brothers for a week when he was on vacation and it was a game changer. Now I've become a proponent myself.

[zimpenfish]

I have in-ear Etymotics - they do an effective job of blocking most noise at a decent price point. But the combination of noises and movements and people banging laptops on the omnidesks and ... mean they're at best a limited stopgap.

[atmosx]

Maybe you should try working remotely if that is a possibility.

[zimpenfish]

It is but only really for 1 day a week at the moment.