Quiet, please: Seven ways to cut distraction

Some advice from New Scientist & Tim Dowling of The Guardian on how to conquer the office wasp.

• Put up a clear Do Not Disturb sign, or an obvious signal that you are busy. Insist that your colleagues respect it.
• Rearrange your office furniture so that your desk faces away from the flow of people, so no one can catch your eye.
• Always stand up to talk to someone who is interupting you, so they know what they're doing.
• Put a big clock in plain view of visitors and check it while you are talking.Be prepared: if an interruption is likely to take longer than two minutes, add it to your to-do list and go back to what you were already doing.
• Keep a notebook open and write down what you are doing as soon as you are interrupted.
• Cutting 2cm off the front legs of a chair makes it just uncomfortable enough to keep visits short.

Full article can be found here.