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The cost of interrupted work (2023)

(blog.oberien.de)
282 points _vaporwave_ | 7 comments | 23 Aug 25 21:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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Waterluvian ◴[23 Aug 25 23:25 UTC] No.44999915[source]▶
Some days an interruption will throw me off my train of thought, and I spend the remaining six hours collecting discarded bottles and railway ties for hopeful use somewhere, somehow, sometime.

Other days an interruption costs me pretty much nothing.

I’m still trying to figure out how to tell which of those days I’m going to have and whether to just not log into Slack for the day.

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bubblebeard ◴[24 Aug 25 00:50 UTC] No.45000314[source]▶
My feelings exactly. Whenever I get one of those days I’ve found I get more done away from my desk. Taking a walk in the forest or doing some household chores can really help you get back on track.

Of course at times it’s just better to admit altogether this isn’t a day meant for work and spend it relaxing instead. Usually, the benefit of that is a really productive day at work the day after too, everybody wins.

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1. Waterluvian ◴[24 Aug 25 01:11 UTC] No.45000406[source]▶
Almost all my employers and managers have been very understanding about this. But one of my favourites was a manager earlier in my career who picked up that I was anxious about my work hours and ethic. To paraphrase, he said, “the company isn’t paying you to solve problems M-F 9-5. It’s paying you for when you solve them in the shower or on a walk or when you’re putting your kid to bed, and then come into work and implement the solution.”

I’ve thought about this for years as I tune my work life balance. I’ve never felt like I’m wrongly bringing work home with me that way. It’s always felt like an incredible optimization where my job gives me these puzzles I get to carry with me and work on when I’m bored or my ADHD addled brain screams for stimulation.

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2. junon ◴[24 Aug 25 01:26 UTC] No.45000495[source]▶
You've been very lucky. I wish I had a similar experience. Managers who truly think that way are beautiful creatures.
3. pockybum522 ◴[24 Aug 25 01:31 UTC] No.45000516[source]▶
Do you happen to know if that one is hiring for anything at the moment? Left to solve problems at that pace, I'm pretty sure I could do some great things for them.
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4. bongodongobob ◴[24 Aug 25 02:28 UTC] No.45000780[source]▶
I've never worked anywhere where I wouldn't be laughed at for suggesting this. "No, we do pay you to work from 9-5, M-F." You are very lucky.
5. saagarjha ◴[24 Aug 25 03:36 UTC] No.45001138[source]▶
Most remote work gigs are basically this.
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6. pastage ◴[24 Aug 25 05:15 UTC] No.45001588{3}[source]▶
There are absolutely places where you are chained to the computer in remote positions this is a culture thing not how work is done. We have a nice culture and we are hiring, sadly not remote anymore.

I do not think it actually affects productivity in either way. What happens is that people seem to feel better.

7. kaffekaka ◴[24 Aug 25 06:51 UTC] No.45001956[source]▶
As long as I compulsively think about work in the shower, at 3AM in bed or while out running, I will never feel guilty about thinking about anything else than work for a while during 9-5.