So I can't find an online reference to this anywhere, but years ago I read a relevant anecdote about (I'm pretty sure) Isaac Asimov.
He used to go into the most noisy environments he could find to write; places like a noisy restaurant or cafe. He found that this forced him to focus in a way that a quiet environment did not. For example, in a quiet environment, you occasionally still hear sounds, but it's rare enough that you don't have to keep your focus actively engaged. So when the sounds inevitably do happen, they distract.
Note that I'm not suggesting that this would work for most people. I've tried it, and maybe it's worked for me once or twice. It's an interesting way to try to get of writer's block, if nothing else.
There has been some research done into why this is (I'm citing a personality course I took), and it could be because some people's brains have a lack of stimulation, and others are overstimulated. The people lacking stimulation find it easier to think in noisy environments because they're full of stimuli. This might also explain some of the traits of introverted/extroverted people.
interesting! that seems to be consistent with my experience. I can never work at my quiet office where just sitting down bores me to tears and puts me to sleep in less than an hour. working at a cafe on the other hand I can go on for hours.
Do you have more info on the introvert/extrovert link?
Of course you should keep in mind potential confounding factors, but it's certainly interesting as an explanation. I'm not sure if there've been any studies where they took fMRIs while doing the lemon juice test, which would probably be a bit better.
This is an opinion, but it seems this can make it easier for some. Because it's a constant noise that doesn't often change much, you eventually tune it out. It feels like it's the sudden change in ambient noise that causes a break in concentration. I use white noise, or a rain noise generator (they both do well for me) to get this same effect while studying.
The term 'distraction' is defined as 'A thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.'
Note, distraction specifically refers to a thing that 'divides your attention' in other words a 'distraction catches your attention'. If you surround yourself with 100 people doing things no way connected to you- and are pretty busy and loud, you are essentially isolating yourself! Have you ever had that 'I feel lonely in the crowd' feeling?
Walk into a hall full of accountants and tax consultants, and then try to code. Tax laws will seem so alien to you, and those guys will be so busy talking and chatting aloud. You will essentially be isolated and that will help you focus. On the other hand, walking into a room full of programmers or some topic in which you like. You will never be able to give your full, and will always have a tendency to eavesdrop on some ones conversation and that will tapping into your mental bandwidth.
You can file my response in the "Everyone is different bin", but here is my situation:
> Note, distraction specifically refers to a thing that 'divides your attention' in other words a 'distraction catches your attention'.
Almost everything catches my attention.
> If you surround yourself with 100 people doing things no way connected to you- and are pretty busy and loud, you are essentially isolating yourself!
No, I will have 100 extra things to try and pay attention to. That what everyone else is not connected to me is irrelevant. Think of it as subconscious people watching on steroids.
> Have you ever had that 'I feel lonely in the crowd' feeling?
No, actually I find crowds to be disorienting. The louder and denser the crowd, the more severe my disorientation. I can also get tense, dizzy, and nauseous.
> Walk into a hall full of accountants and tax consultants, and then try to code. Tax laws will seem so alien to you, and those guys will be so busy talking and chatting aloud. You will essentially be isolated and that will help you focus. On the other hand, walking into a room full of programmers or some topic in which you like. You will never be able to give your full, and will always have a tendency to eavesdrop on some ones conversation and that will tapping into your mental bandwidth.
I cannot selectively ignore conversation based on the subject. Any signal I can separate from the background takes bandwidth, because I can't resist paying attention. Additionally, "uncooperative" sounds make me tense, if for no other reason than I have no control over them.
Apparently the same was true for John von Neumann. Wikipedia says he
> did some of his best work blazingly fast in noisy, chaotic environments, and once admonished his wife for preparing a quiet study for him to work in. He never used it, preferring the couple's living room with its TV playing loudly.
That can work for me, but the nature and quality of the noise matters a great deal.
I'm increasingly finding that even voices on radio (typically PBS/BBC type broadcasts) are distracting and/or annoying. I've been listening to classical radio, though the station I tune to most frequently has the annoying habit of adding some "light" (mostly pretty condescendingly stupid, IMO) chatter to their morning program. I generally switch away during that period.
I noticed one announcer who would begin breaks with a question (again, light/trivia), just before a pitch would begin. I found that tremendously annoying once I clued in to it, and again, switched away from her programming.
In an office, the problem with conversations is that, well, they're work related, which is to say, the consequences of conversations may affect you.
Cafe / public discussions are rarely of this nature. You can tune them out because they have no impact on you. One downside of finding a regular cafe is getting to know enough people that they do start to matter -- at which point your lack of social significance to what they say goes away.
Increasingly I find I vastly prefer a quiet and non-distracting environment. Diametrically opposite of open-plan offices.
He used to go into the most noisy environments he could find to write; places like a noisy restaurant or cafe. He found that this forced him to focus in a way that a quiet environment did not. For example, in a quiet environment, you occasionally still hear sounds, but it's rare enough that you don't have to keep your focus actively engaged. So when the sounds inevitably do happen, they distract.
Note that I'm not suggesting that this would work for most people. I've tried it, and maybe it's worked for me once or twice. It's an interesting way to try to get of writer's block, if nothing else.