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Yes, when I was an employee of GE, they had given all the employees a big placard to hang at the desk, having the words "Imagination at Work" which was another way of telling that "I am thinking and working; leave me alone".
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I worked at a place that would legit have "Do not disturb" hours for the staff. They were having issues with too many interruptions that were actually work related. So for a couple of distributed hours sets of people would have a sign up. It was to help people collect a list of questions before interrupting their supervisors instead of interrupting them every time they hit a question. Seemed to help.
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No idea... I wouldn't bother being polite.
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Exactly.
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Don't take your eyes off of your monitor, keep typing, but start leaning towards the other guy as if you were about to turn your head to face him, but don't do it just yet--clearly acknowledging his presence, but making it obvious you're trying to complete this one last thing before facing him.
Then in one brisk move, bring your full attention back to your monitor as if you've just spotted an error that needs an immediate correction. Start over again. Do it a couple of times. Exaggerate it all like one of those extended Family Guy skits that takes forever to go anywhere.
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Beat me to it and with much more flair and visual cues! Nice!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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If you are busy and it's nothing important, get into the habit of not acknowledging them immediately...maybe at least a 10 second pause before looking up, or finishing that line of code. Also, continuing to type while they talk can also get the point across. One trick I've not been able to master though is typing and talking at the same time.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Dominic Burford wrote: What's a polite way of telling them that I'm actually busy.
Two words: starts with a capital F and ends in a lower case f, and has 7 letters total.
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Fell off ? You ... push them ?
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Paste this[^] on his monitor
cheers
Chris Maunder
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We have that in our kitchen at work.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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I'm going to Slack that to the team (and hope he takes the hint)
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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I have a sign I place outside my cube that looks something like this:
Do Not Disturb
Unless it's on fire
Software Zen: delete this;
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I would kill for a cube. It's completely open plan here. Can't hear yourself think this time of year for the endless chatter about who so-and-so is going to take to the xmas Do.
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I would hate working in an open plan office. It's bad enough where I work when people are yakking on their phones and having aisle design reviews.
At that, it's better than it was. Before our layoffs, we had most of our cubes occupied and the noise was obnoxious. Now, it's down to 1 in 4, if that .
Software Zen: delete this;
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As other have suggested headphones - they don't need to know you are not listening to music and you can always get an app that will play various different types of white noise.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Short and to the point
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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Dominic Burford wrote: What's a polite way of telling them that I'm actually busy.
I just fart and magically people leave of their own accord.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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I can see JSOP quietly pull out a handgun and lay it on the desk.
I know he wouldn't REALLY do it but I can picture it in my mind.
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1. Release gas.
2. Fake phone call from neighbor.
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I'm like that bloke. A certain member of our staff simply points at the door and says "Get out!". I value that phrase better than the one in which he points to a trash bin and says my body would fit in it.
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My spidey sense it tingling, and it tells me that you are averse to conflict. If so, you may be getting in your own way...
A straight forward way to address this is to state your feelings, without ambiguity. Be sure to include any empathetic feelings you have for them, and validate their position as much as you can. Then, gain & maintain credibility on this issue by disallowing satisfaction for them in the future each time that they are discourteous to the feelings you made clear.
I know, it's easier said than done...
cmkrnl. I win.
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Quite the opposite. I'm the bluntest person in the office. However, I have to work with this guy, and being blunt wouldn't be a good strategy. It's his first job and he's very young. Sometimes diplomacy is the more appropriate approach.
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare
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Open workspace? Headphones are a good suggestion. Some here also use lights that are red, yellow, and green:
Red = "Do not disturb - something better be well and truly on fire"
Yellow = "I can talk but it better be important"
Green = "Always working but willing to pause"
If you have an office, use your door to communicate your status and let folks know what it means (same as colors above).
Closed = Red
Mostly closed but ajar = Yellow
Open = Green
Barring that, the truth often works well, "Sorry to be rude, but I'm in the middle of something pretty gnarly. Can I get back to you?"
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