Our Time To Think: Block Distractions For Your Team So They Can Get Things Done

A few years ago I was working in an office on a 6-person software development team that shared cubicles and sat together. I was the team lead and was responsible for answering some questions or otherwise helping out. I noticed myself and my team were frequently interrupting each other, especially because there were two people to a cubicle. Any time someone started a conversation, inevitably the cube mate would turn around and participate because it was probably interesting but definitely distracting. I started to struggle with a sense that I wasn't getting enough done. Many times when I got into the zone of concentration something would distract me - an email, instant message, or conversation. So, I decided to try the Pomodoro technique for myself where I would set a timer for 25 minutes and turn off chats and emails so that I could focus. The Pomodoro technique helped my productivity and sense of accomplishment some, but I was still getting distracted by coworkers who weren't focusing at the same time I was. That's when I had my A-Ha! moment and realized that the whole team would benefit by sharing the same work/break cycle so that everyone's focus time coincided. After some experimentation, it became clear that doing this all day long was actually quite draining. What we found worked best for us was to pick two to three hours every day where we would synchronize our focus times, and then freely collaborate during the remainder of the day. I turned this idea of a team productivity timer into Our Time To Think, a Slack app that manages a Slack channel's members' Do Not Disturb (DND) status. Sessions can be started manually or scheduled to repeat at the same time on whichever days work best. In the future, OTTT will expand beyond Slack to include DND managers for desktop and phone and a physical light to show anyone walking by that the team is in a focus zone.