[pagejim]

I face the same problem at my workplace.

Here are some of the things that I do when noise around in the office starts distracting me:

1) Put on headphones and play music that I like.

2) If the work is really demanding, would need absolute concentration and that too for a long time, I prefer leaving office early in the day and come next morning at least 2-3 hours before others start filling in. Or sometimes, I come back to office after dinner.

[SpikeX]

Plus, if you shift your work hours (assuming your boss is OK with it), your commute will be much better because you're not traveling during rush hour.

[amritamaz]

I shifted my work hours ahead by two hours and cut down my commute by a half hour each way, and those first two hours are my most productive (no meetings, no urgent emails, no loud conversations next door). I highly recommend it.

[Paul_S]

I do actually sometimes do that - move the work over to the afternoon but I don't want to do it as it means staying longer at the office. The work efficiency difference is massive but it's my time.