If I work alone, I used to be superproductive, if I want to be. Running prototypes within a day, something that you can deploy and use within a few days. Not perfect, but good enough. I also had this experience a few times when working directly with someone else. Everybody could do the whole thing, but it was more fun not to do it alone and also quicker. The right two people can take an admittedly not too large project onto new levels.

Now at work we have a seven person team and I do not feel nearly as productive. Not even nearly. Certain stuff needs to be checked against something else, which then needs to also take care of some new requirement, which just came in three days ago. All sorts of stuff, mostly important, but often just a technical debt from long ago or misconception or different vocabulary for the same thing or sometimes just a not too technically thought out great idea from someone who wants to have their say, and so on. Digging down the rabbit hole, I think to myself, I could do larger portions of this work faster alone (and somewhat better, too), but it's not my responsibility (someone else gets paid for that), so by design I should not care. But I do, because certain things go hand in hand (as you may experience it, when you done sideprojects on your own).

I know this is something Fred Brooks has written about, but still, what's your strategy for staying as productive as you know you could be in the cubicle? Or did you quit for some related reason; and if so where did you go?