I am a founder working from home on my small business, in an apartment complex in a nice location in CA. Every day there is at least 4 times a garbage pickup, by an extremely loud garbage truck. Then there is the people racing their motorcycles and cars up and down the street, the airbnbs on weekends, stay at home moms/dads or nannies with kids on balconies, the endless moving trucks, amazon/fedex/ups trucks, and so on. Then there is the endless landscaping and street cleaning trucks. Gas powered garden equipment and blowers. Even with the windows closed it is very hard to block out all the noise. How do people who live in tech metros in apartment complexes manage to concentrate on their work on a day to day basis? Love to hear stories and tips and what people have done to improve their productivity even if it means moving somewhere else.

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.

  • @[email protected]English
    2•1 year ago

    High quality noise cancelling headphones. If that’s not enough then I’ll play white noise, soundscapes, or music. There’s a lot of variety out there so finding your fit is key. Here are some examples of what I listen to:

    • Noise - white noise, brown, pink
    • Soundscapes - waves, rain, etc.
    • Music - techno, binaural beats, deep focus, lofi.

    Edit: I totally missed what sub this was. Gonna leave it up in case it helps someone.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•1 year ago

      Also - if you don’t already have window coverings, then heavy curtains or honeycomb blinds will also help with noise.

      • @toasteecupEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        This.

        I have curtains and a decently sealed front door and I hardly hear outside noise. Some days I’ll have YouTube on because waiting around for someone and that’s helps. Generally though my pace at work allows for me to get distracted and no one gets upset because I answer promptly and get stuff done on time.