Headroom

Approaching high school exams, I would set up camp at the kitchen table.  I would work with intense concentration that was not deterred but rather stoked by the comings and goings of my family members.  I liked working in the centre of the house. If I had to work in isolation, my mind would wander and I had a hard time sticking to my task.  Now, I see that when I do this, and the interruptions come from children and not orderly adults/semi-adults, it takes longer to get things done but I still prefer it over total isolation.

Getting interrupted at work has a different impact on me.  Interruptions are harder for me to cope with and manage.  Why is that?  Perhaps its because email can intrude in incessant ways that my mom chatting about who she bumped into at the store can never be compared to. Is it because I can still maintain some fragile level of autonomy and privacy in the midst of chaos at home?  As I work, a part of me, however occupied with work, can still roam freer than it can in the workplace.  Where do you work best?  I wonder how many of you prefer to work at work?

This guy, Jason Fried, has some very interesting ideas about the barriers to getting work done.