Ask HN: How do you avoid people distracting you at work?

I work as a developer at a large company in a large open office. We have many scrum teams and communication via Slack is normal. My coworkers frequently walk up to my desk to start conversations. I would like to encourage them to use Slack instead at certain times such as when I'm under pressure with a project but I'm not sure how to signal this to them. I have too many colleagues to simply ask them kindly not to distract me at certain times so asking the people around me not to distract me if I have headphones is ineffective.

Do you have any strategies signalling to your colleagues (many of whom you might not know) that you would prefer not to be distracted at certain times?

I've tried and been unsuccessful. There's always that clueless employee that starts talking when my headphones are on. It may be a personal problem too, I really like helping.

actionable advice:

The adult: Use your words "I have my headphone on, that means please do not disturb." or make eye contact slowly shake your head 'no' It's especially difficult when the person is a repeat offender. But don't forget you would be helping not just yourself, but them AND all the people they might bother in the future. You might even need to go to your lead or supervisor or HR. Don't dismiss your need to get your work done. They're wasting your time and the company's money.

The easy: Don't respond. That's kinda a lame move, but oh well.

The difficult: Put a red light on your monitor. Turn it on when you're working, refuse to answer any questions until your done. Don't do this.

h e a d p h o n e s

Sometimes I will take my headphones off and say, "Hey sorry, I'm deep into X right now — Can I grab you [in 10 min | when I'm done]?"

If you can communicate it to someone that manages your team, or the person that manages your manager, you should. They can make it clear that interruptions should only happen on a need to happen basis.

Otherwise, if you are in an environment where people higher up will not empathize and tell you that this just makes you guys more creative:

a) Look for another job b) In the meantime, print out a quirky message on a piece of paper, to appear friendlier, asking the potential interrupter whether what they need is urgent, and if it's not, to try hitting you on slack if you have your headphones on (or in general even). It should work.