Interruptions in the Workplace

I love Big Think. Jason Fried (37 Signals) reports on the current state of the workplace (via Philip):

https://bigthink.com/videos/big-think-interview-with-jason-fried

This is pretty accurate. Some managers are better than others, but the interruption concept is spot on. I love working remotely, in my cave (see Rands on his cave for more), because I am not distracted. If I’m in a zone working on a project, I can shutoff my phone and my email, my Twitter client and my IM tools, and just work.

In the office, even if I’ve done all of these things, there is still a high probability that I will be interrupted by a person or general office noise. Jason talks about removing the interruptions in the actual workplace. If you’re unable to do this, I suggest trying to get out of there, at least a day or two a week. It doesn’t have to be a home office, either. Just somewhere you’ll be more productive.

I’m curious what you think your managers will buy into first. Reconditioning the work environment to have less interruptions, or letting you work remotely. What’s your experience?