????現(xiàn)如今，似乎每個(gè)人都在談?wù)摗皡f(xié)作”，尤其是將“協(xié)作”作為一項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)手段。不可否認(rèn)，兩者緊密相連，但最近的討論忽視了等式另一端的“專注”。

????首先要聲明一點(diǎn)，我推崇協(xié)作。雖然近期有不少文章批評(píng)頭腦風(fēng)暴，我仍是協(xié)作論的支持者。但認(rèn)為“協(xié)作是解決一切問(wèn)題的靈藥”，這種觀點(diǎn)在我看來(lái)同樣失之片面。正如上個(gè)世紀(jì)大部分時(shí)候我們都在喋喋不休地講個(gè)人需求，而不是團(tuán)隊(duì)需求，如今我們的行為有矯枉過(guò)正的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。我們絕不能忘記“專注”對(duì)于做（好）工作的重要性。

????但也別急著馬上就要?jiǎng)邮衷谵k公室里豎起隔板來(lái)，不妨先想一想，轉(zhuǎn)變行為方式或許比豎隔板更有助于促進(jìn)專注。

????大多數(shù)人早就知道辦公室格子間對(duì)于專注工作并沒(méi)有幫助。隔板雖然擋住了視線，讓你不能看到臨近的同事，有一種私密的錯(cuò)覺(jué)，但任何人在格子間里坐上超過(guò)一個(gè)小時(shí)就知道，這些隔板幾乎擋不住任何聲響。

????獨(dú)立辦公室也好不了多少。即便有自己的私人辦公室，也很可能無(wú)法在里面專注工作。為什么？因?yàn)槿绻阍谀莾?，所有人都知道到那兒去找你。去年，我們調(diào)查了10,000多名員工，“突然拜訪”（pop-ins）在工作場(chǎng)所18項(xiàng)最常見(jiàn)的浪費(fèi)時(shí)間因素中列在第一位。I

????因此，毫不奇怪，當(dāng)我們?cè)诓稍L中和在研討會(huì)上問(wèn)到人們“他們最出色的工作是在哪里完成的？”，我們常常聽(tīng)到的答案是家里、小餐廳、街對(duì)面的咖啡館，基本上都是別人沒(méi)法找到他們的地方。從我們進(jìn)行的數(shù)千份空間利用研究中，我們也發(fā)現(xiàn)，個(gè)人工作空間的平均使用時(shí)間僅占核心工作日的35%。人們不會(huì)在自己的座位上呆很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。

????這絕不是說(shuō)他們沒(méi)在工作。事實(shí)上，大多數(shù)人工作都很努力，但他們不是在自己的座位上工作，而是在會(huì)議室、在客戶那里、在出差，或在其他的地點(diǎn)很專注地工作。

工作中沒(méi)時(shí)間思考

????“最需要集中注意力的工作在哪里完成”——對(duì)于我們的這個(gè)問(wèn)題，最常見(jiàn)的回答是“家里”。不僅僅是因?yàn)榧依锸强梢员苊夥中牡牡胤?，而且也因?yàn)槲覀儼滋斓墓ぷ髋诺脻M滿當(dāng)當(dāng)，大多數(shù)人能專注做事的時(shí)間只有每天的清晨、深夜或周末。

????最近，我遇到的一位軟件工程師將此歸咎于“管理者帶來(lái)的問(wèn)題”。由于工作性質(zhì)關(guān)系，管理者幾乎總是在開會(huì)，工作日程排得如此之滿，內(nèi)部會(huì)議只能見(jiàn)縫插針。不管員工是不是正在那兩個(gè)小時(shí)里心無(wú)旁騖地專注工作，管理者要開的會(huì)還得開，因?yàn)樗挥羞@個(gè)時(shí)間有空。誰(shuí)叫他是管理者呢。

????作為一名管理者，我認(rèn)為這也是“管理者遇到的問(wèn)題”。我總是在日程安排方面遇到麻煩——日程已經(jīng)排滿，余下的都是些15分鐘、30分鐘這樣一小段一小段的時(shí)間，只夠我回復(fù)郵件。即便是那些沒(méi)有被會(huì)議填滿的日子，我的日程看來(lái)也已滿滿當(dāng)當(dāng)，根本不容我坐下來(lái)，專心致志地處理一些頗費(fèi)思量的事情。

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????It seems everyone is talking about collaboration these days, and in particular, collaboration as a business tool. There is no denying that the two are connected, but the recent debates have sidelined the other equally critical side of the equation -- concentration.

????For the record, I'm a big fan of collaboration. And despite the relatively recent spate of articles knocking brainstorming, I'm a fan of that as well. But the idea that collaboration is some sort of business cure-all does feel one-sided to me. Just as we spent the better part of the last century harping on the needs of individuals rather the needs of teams, we now run the risk of letting the pendulum swing too far the other way. We must not forget the important role concentration plays in getting (good) work done.

????But before you run out and reconstruct the walls of your office's cubicles, consider that a shift in behavior might do more to support concentration than the construction of walls ever will.

????That cubes aren't good for concentration most people already know. Panels give the illusion of privacy because you can't see your neighbor, but anyone who has sat in one for more than an hour can tell you that the fabric between you does little to protect you from hearing your neighbor.

????Offices aren't much better. Even if you have a private office, chances are that you don't get that much focused work done in it. Why? Because when you're there, everyone knows where to find you. Of the 10,000+ workers we surveyed last year, "pop-ins" ranked first (of 18) in a list of the most common workplace time-wasters.

????It's no surprise that when we ask people in interviews and workshops where they get their best work done, we usually hear at home, in the café, at a coffee shop across the street, essentially any place where other people can't find them. We learned from the thousands of space utilization studies we've done that individual workspace is occupied an average of 35% of the core working day. People just don't spend a ton of time at their desks.

????Now, that doesn't mean they're not working. Indeed, most of them are working very hard, but instead of sitting at their desks, they are in conference rooms, at customer sites, travelling, or…wait for it…concentrating someplace else.

No time to think at work

????"Home" is a frequent answer to our question about where people get their most focused work done not just because it can be a place free from distractions but also because, with our days so scheduled, the only time most people have to concentrate is early in the morning, late at night, or over the weekend.

????I met a software engineer recently who referred to this as "the problem with managers." By the very nature of their roles, managers are almost constantly in meetings. As a result, their schedules are packed so tightly that when it comes to scheduling internal meetings, people are slotted into whatever time is available. No matter if it is right in the middle of a two-hour slot designated for concentrated work, that is the only free time the manager has. And he is the manager.

????As a manager, I think this could just as easily be called "the problem for managers." I am constantly challenged by my calendar -- it fills up and I'm left with 15 and 30 minute slots of time that are only good for returning emails. Even on days that are not filled with meetings, the ones I do have seem to be scheduled just far enough apart to make sitting down and really focusing on something extremely difficult.