My problem is way too much context switching, definitely. I have done at least 20 different things since I opened the tab to read the article. Still only 1/3 of the way through the article though.

In broader strokes: Verify your assumptions, especially about yourself.

Self-discovery was an important part of becoming an independent young adult. What am I good at, what am I bad at, what do I want/need to be good at? But your brain will continue to change through your life, for better and for worse. Just because you were good at multitasking at 24 doesn't mean you still are at 34. And coping mechanisms you used to deal with other limitations might not be helping you anymore.

I've heard a lot of adults say that they still see themselves as 30, and so it's a shock when someone calls them sir, defers to their experience in a tough situation, or when they see how much grey is looking at them in the mirror. If our sense of self gets set in stone, we start to miss things.

This is absolutely true and shocking difficult.

You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help.

But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.

How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?

Yes. This worked well for me.

I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours.

No one has shouted at me yet.

Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down.

Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another.

Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.

It's basically that.

I block out chunks of time and disable all distractions during those blocks, I don't have a phone on my desk.

When I started they said to open a ticket with IT to get a phone installed and I simply didn't.

If it's urgent, like production is out - come find me otherwise wait until I reach a natural stopping point and I'll reply, you'll get a better more thoughtful reply then me throwing a reply your way desperately trying to get back to actual work.

It's weird to me how many companies seem to go out of their way to create an environment where developers can't get their best work done.

I mean there has to be a degree of balance between working together and working alone but the ratio in my opinion is 20/80 for what we do, meet up, make a plan, bugger off and work on the plan, reach out of something is a problem.

Versus the type of environment I'm currently in where it's death by a thousand distractions if you allow it, which I simply don't.

I turned off notifications at the top level except @mentions, and then specifically turned back on just the super important channels (operations type stuff). I even explicitly mute a lot of channels that don't need my daily input, and people know that they need to @mention me if they need attention in that channel. And making sure to put the right quiet hours, and time zone in to shut them all down.

use slack like email. all notifications off and check a few times a day

If we say distraction is actually caused FOMO, then how do you treat that? I think we are dealing here with emotional management

I believe it is more than the Fear Of Missing Out.

We are very curious creatures.

It can be caused by not liking your job and looking for a way out.

It can be a dopamine addiction.

Most distractions are very easy to process so when you are doing hard work it might be tempting to look for something more easy on the brain.

'Social' is designed to distract us. So unless you turn off all knobs it is hard to ignore.

I believe treatment is done step by step. For most people cold turkey is very hard to do. But the first step is to see for yourself if distractions cause a problem (why change if it is not a problem?).

I really like this comment. It's almost like distraction is a symptom of escape from something in our everyday lives.

I think one part is curiosity like the other commenter said, but I also think that part of it is seeking distraction from something. Like we want to take up the space in our mind, so there isn't room for something else.