In response to an article I published on the “Top 10 Distractions in the Office“, a reader wrote back to ask what a “white noise machine” was. He had read the following excerpt:

Noise. Overhearing colleagues’ discussions, one-sided telephone conversations, or outside activities diverts your concentration. If you are easily distracted, close your door, use a small white noise machine, or try headphones.

To provide him with an example, I referred him to the Sound Control Center website, which has illustrations for devices that work for office and home.

Something else that could even be more convenient for personal use at the office is to have a program downloaded to your computer that gives you options for blocking out noise, whether it is outside environmental noise or inside conversations that tend to carry over cubicle walls. This would work well when trying to concentrate at airports, with an earphone on airplane flights, and other offsite locations, providing adding flexibility when you are trying to focus on the work at hand. One example of a program that would help is called Chatterblocker.

When you want to improve productivity by increasing your focus and concentration, test options for blocking out distractions to see which ones work best for you.