If a loud coworker in the adjacent cubicle is on a telephone call, it’s much more productive to throw on some noise-canceling headphones and listen to music. (A study found that overhearing one side of a phone conversation is significantly more distracting than overhearing a regular dyadic conversation—your brain works overtime to fill in the missing side of the half-alogue, so the conversation occupies more of your attentional space.)*
