I Left My Headphone to Work, and It Couldn’t be Any Worse

Today is one of those days when I feel barely productive. I could not get my tasks done. But, how can I get my tasks done when I could not concentrate to plan my tasks in the first place. I work in an open space where people walk around, and talk to others with less cost. It means that they do not need to get up and talk to another person on the other side, they just shout it out.

I’m a software engineer, so I think I need deep thinking that I usually get zoned out when I do my tasks, because a lot of abstract thinking that should be done. Even small noise could distract my concentration when I’m in this state. Other people’s chit chat, any mouth noise, pen clicking, and laughter are often the case. Actually, I don’t blame them for my distractions. It’s just the consequence of open space. OR, maybe I’m just too shy to ask them to make them quiet.

It turns out I’m not the only one. There is a phenomenon called Misophonia that basically certain reaction triggered by sound. Although, study about this phenomenon is still limited. However, for those who are extroverts maybe do not find the same thing the way I feel. In fact, open space will help extroverts to be more productive because they could collaborate more and get more energy from interactions.

Speaking of open office, there is an interesting podcast that talk about this, and argue about the open office is actually flawed. Research in the podcast stated that open office make interaction between colleagues drops by 70%. Can you imagine that? Open space does not necessarily makes people in it open. They prefer digital over direct interaction. You can listen the podcast from HBR here, it is recommended.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TGOM1fRN11qEF4puOxoUT?si=Rr_Xqp_jSWy8KQ9qKS_HPw

So, instead of working, today I’m busy searching other places to get my work done. Fortunately, there is a quiet place on the other side of the building. But, it was too quiet. What??! I know, but actually music background really matters to me. I don’t know if that is only a placebo or it is really affecting my work. One thing for sure is that my earphone and headphone could be a powerful tool for me to control my environment and mood. I prefer earphone over headphone because sometimes I feel like a jerk wearing headphone in public. OR not. Yes, I’m too afraid to be judged. But, that would be another writing topic.

Thanks for reading :)