[mlthoughts2018]

Why do you think Slack is just as interruptive as a shoulder tap? When I have to focus on my work and I’m in a state where I cannot answer someone else’s question for a while, I minimize Slack and email, usually for several hours.

You can still send me a message on Slack, and I’ll respond in a few hours when I can.

But if you speak verbally directly to me at my desk or tap me on the shoulder, then I have to break my concentration, engage in social norms about hearing out your question. Even if I instantly tell you I can’t help right now, I’ll lose 5-15 minutes getting back to concentration every time you do this.

You have a very unusual and incorrect understanding about how much more severely distracting itbis to receive a verbal / shoulder tap interruption for a question than something asynchronous like Slack or email.