Your Open Office is Giving You Secondhand ADHD
I tracked my coding patterns for a month. The data shocked me: I'm 3x more creative at home than in the office. Here's what I found.
10:47am - Slack notification. Lost 30 seconds.
10:52am - Coworker laughs at a meme. Lost 30 seconds.
10:58am - Someone starts their standup behind you. Lost 30 seconds.
11:03am - Phone buzzes on nearby desk. Lost 30 seconds.
By lunch, you've lost 47 minutes to interruptions you don't even remember happening.
The Number That Changed Everything: 18% vs 56%
I've been tracking my coding for a month using FlouState. In the office, I create new code 18% of the time. At home? 56%.
Same projects, same deadlines, same me. Three times more creative output at home.
Creative Output by Location
3x more creative output at home
This isn't about being “less productive” in the office. The data reveals something far more disturbing: I literally become a different developer.
What a Month of Data Revealed
Over the past month of automatic tracking:
- Nearly 200 hours logged automatically
- Over 1,200 focus sessions categorized
- Thousands of lines of code analyzed
- Split between office (3 days) and home (2 days)
The pattern emerged within the first week and held steady.
When I Realized I'm Two Different Developers
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how we only debug 2% of the time, not the 40% we think. That post resonated with a lot of you. So I kept tracking with FlouState, and within the first week, something weird jumped out from my daily summaries.
Every Monday/Wednesday/Friday - my office days - showed massive “exploring” time. Just clicking around files, reading the same code repeatedly, losing the thread. Tuesday/Thursday looked like a completely different developer's profile.
Work Type Distribution: Office vs Home
49% of office time spent “exploring” (re-reading the same code)
At first I thought maybe I just had a bad week at the office. So the next week, I deliberately moved my complex feature work to office days to test it.
The pattern held:
- Office days: still ~20% creating
- Home days: still ~55% creating
After three weeks of data, I had to accept it: The environment was literally changing who I was as a developer.
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What The Data Actually Shows
Office Days (Mon/Wed/Fri)
Home Days (Tue/Thu)
That 49% “exploring” time? I wasn't learning anything new. I was just re-reading the same code because I kept losing my train of thought.
The 23-Minute Recovery Time You Never Get
Research from UC Irvine shows it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to fully refocus after an interruption. Look at my actual data:
Average Uninterrupted Focus Time (minutes)
Office interruptions happen before recovery is possible
The Numbers Don't Lie
Average uninterrupted coding time at home: 87 minutes
Average uninterrupted coding time in office: 11 minutes
I never get 23 minutes to recover. It's like trying to code with a computer that's constantly swapping to disk - technically functioning, but painfully slow.
Why Your Brain Can't Reset in an Open Office
Here's what's actually happening in that 49% “exploring” time:
Your brain is hardwired to notice everything around you - it's a survival mechanism. Every movement, every sound, every visual change gets processed whether you realize it or not. Your conscious mind thinks you're focused, but your brain is constantly scanning.
The Cognitive Load
In my open office with 20 people, I'm essentially running a resource-heavy background process all day long, leaving maybe 30-40% of my brain for actual coding.
You're not distracted. Your brain is working against you.
Here's What My Typical Office Day Actually Looks Like
Focus Level During a Typical Office Morning
Never recovering to baseline focus before the next interruption
Office Day (Wed, Aug 7)
9:00am - Start deep work on auth feature
9:08am - Slack notification (2 min)
9:19am - Coworker asks about lunch
9:31am - Mechanical keyboard thundering
9:44am - Sales team celebrates
9:52am - “Hey, quick question...” (12 min)
10:15am - Finally refocused... coffee chatter
Result: 23 minutes of creating in 75 minutes
Home Day (Thu, Aug 8)
9:00am - Continue same auth feature
10:27am - First natural break to stretch
Result: 87 minutes of pure creation, feature completed
It's Not Just About Getting Less Done
What bothers me most isn't the lower output. It's that I become a different developer in the office:
- I lose track of what I was doing mid-function
- I re-read the same code multiple times
- Simple tasks take forever
The data backs this up. I'm not less motivated or trying less hard. The environment just makes it harder for my brain to do its job.
When we say “I can't focus in the office,” people think we're being difficult. But it's like trying to read in a nightclub - the environment works against the task.
Why This Matters Beyond Just Me
It's Environmental, Not Personal
Just like we learned that secondhand smoke affects everyone differently, open offices affect different brains in different ways. Some thrive, some struggle.
The problem is we've been treating it as a personal preference when it's actually about how our brains are wired.
What Actually Works (Based on Data, Not Hope)
After discovering this pattern, I tried everything:
What Didn't Work:
- Noise-cancelling headphones (visual interruptions still trigger)
- “Focus time” blocks (ignored by colleagues)
- Earlier hours (maintenance staff, security, early birds)
What Actually Worked:
- Presented the data to my manager - Numbers don't lie
- Negotiated “deep work” days - Tue/Thu at home for complex features
- Office days became “collaboration days” - Meetings, reviews, pairing
My manager was skeptical until I showed three weeks of data. Hard to argue with 3x creative output.
The Conversation Script That Works
“I've been tracking my work patterns to optimize my productivity. The data shows I complete complex features 3x faster at home due to fewer interruptions. Could we trial having my feature work on remote days and collaboration on office days? I'll share the metrics after a month.”
Not: “I hate the office.”
But: “Here's how we maximize my output.”
Some Developers DO Thrive in Offices (And That's OK)
Interestingly, one of my colleagues shows the exact opposite pattern. She's more creative in the office - the energy helps her think. Background noise actually helps her focus.
That's the point: we're all different. The problem is assuming everyone works the same way.
Developer Productivity Preferences (FlouState Users)
Most developers show similar patterns, but not all - track your own
What Other Developers Are Finding
Since launching FlouState, I've been getting emails from developers with similar patterns. Turns out we're not alone:
- Some of us need complete silence to think
- “Collaboration” doesn't have to mean constant interruption
- Pairing sessions are great, random desk drive-bys aren't
- Everyone has different optimal conditions
The Data Changed How I See Myself
For years I thought I was bad at focusing. “Easily distracted.” “Can't concentrate.” Then the data showed me something different: I can code for 87 minutes straight at home without breaking concentration.
In the office? My longest uninterrupted stretch was 23 minutes. Average was 11.
That's not me being weak-willed. It's just how brains work when they're constantly monitoring for threats (which is what movement and noise register as, evolutionarily speaking).
How to Get Your Own Evidence
If you're struggling with this too, start tracking. Just two weeks of data will probably show your pattern clearly. You can't argue with feelings, but you can argue with data.
I built FlouState for this - it tracks not just time but what TYPE of work you're doing (the creating vs exploring split was the eye-opener for me). But honestly, even a notebook would work.
The tool doesn't matter. What matters is seeing the actual numbers instead of guessing.
What This Means
A month of tracking showed me I'm working at about 30% of my potential in the office. Not because I'm lazy or unfocused - the environment just doesn't work with how my brain processes information.
If you're feeling the same way, get the data. Show your manager. Frame it as optimization, not accommodation - because that's what it is.
When you can prove you ship 3x more features from home, it's hard for anyone to argue against that.
Find out where you actually work best
I was shocked: 18% creating in office, 56% at home
Track your actual patterns - the results might surprise you
Already helping developers understand their work patterns
Note: Based on my personal tracking over the past month. Your patterns will probably be different - that's the whole point. The 23-minute focus recovery stat is from UC Irvine's interruption research.