CodeStock 2012 Review: Michael Eaton( @mjeaton ) - 3 Simple Things for Increased Productivity
3 Simple Things for Increased ProductivitySpeaker: Michael EatonTwitter: @mjeatonBlog: http://mjeaton.net/blog This  was the first time I had seen Michael Eaton speak but have hear a lot  of really good things about his speaking abilities. Needless to say I  was really looking forward to his session. He basically addressed the  topic of distractions and how they can decrease or increase your  productivity as a developer. He makes the case that in order to become  more productive you must block/limit all distractions. For example, he  covered his top distractions as a developer.
Top Distractions
Social Media(Twitter, Reddit, Facebook)
Wiki sites
Phone 
Email
Video Games
Coworkers, Friends, Family
Michael stated that he uses various types of music to help him block  out these distractions in order for him to get into his coding zone.  While he states that music works for him, he also notes that he knows of  others that cannot really work with music. I have to say I am in the  latter group because I require a quiet environment in order to work. A  few session attendees also recommended listening to really loud white  noise or music in another language other than your own. This allows for  less focus to be placed on words being sung compared to the rhythmic  beats being played. I have to say that I have not tried these  suggestions yet but will in the near future.
However, distractions can be very beneficial to productivity in that  they give your mind a chance to relax and not think about the issues at  hand. He spoke highly of taking vacations, and setting boundaries at  work so that develops prevent the problem of burnout.
One way he suggested that developer’s combat distractions is to use  the Pomodoro technique. In his example he selects one task to do for 20  minutes and he can only do that task during that time. He ignores all  other distractions until this task or time limit is complete. After it  is completed he allows himself to relax and distract himself for another  5- 10 minutes before his next Pomodoro. This allows him to stay  completely focused on a task and when the time is up he can then focus  on other things.