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PC Users Fight Distractions to Work

Posted by Zonk on from the would-you-like-some-toast? dept.

prostoalex writes "When someone buys a computer, they expect noticeable increases in productivity and ability to perform routine tasks more efficiently. At least that's what the commercials say. The New York Times talks about the dire reality: software applications do an excellent job of distracting us from doing the tasks. An e-mail notification here, an application popup there, a sound effect telling you the download has been completed and a popup window asking whether you would like to download the latest updates. Much of this distraction is self-enforced, such as taking a break from work to check the weather forecast, read the news headlines, or yet again check the e-mail inbox. NYT talks about various ways people are fighting distractions and points to some cognitive technology research done at Microsoft."

4 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. Willpower? by agent+dero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've noticed the same thing, but I turned the distractions off, the little sounds, the popups, the notifications.

    Some people can focus in a crowded busy lecture hall, some people can't even focus alone in their rooms.
    People are as focussed as they want to be it seems, take this with a grain of salt, given that it's the middle of the work day, and i'm posting on slashdot..... ;)

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  2. Web by Black+Cardinal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd say the biggest distraction is access to the Web.

    For example, posting on Slashdot.

  3. Man vs. Machine by ClubStew · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, let's eliminate all distractions so that 5 seconds of happiness that you receive from an email popup regarding a personal email doesn't become a problem. Eliminate checks on weather sites to see how the weather will be when traveling home and planning accordingly. Eliminate everything that could possibly take away from becoming a machine that probably takes no more than 20 minutes in an entire day.

    We are not machines, we are people. Doing repetitive tasks all day is the work of machines and can cause injury in humans. Should we not have that brief hallway chat with our friends and colleagues to satisfy the need of humans? Or should our interactions also become that of machines: necessary and nothing more.

    The distractions listed here seem rather silly and mostly harmless to most people. If a particular person is distracted too much, then fix the problem for them. For example, if someone has a window office and can't stop staring outside all day, stick them in a cubicle or something. For the most part, however, these sort of distractions are what humans often require - a quick brak.

  4. Wipper Snappers by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I remember the good ol' days when we would goof off by walking over and talking to coworkers.

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