Ever since I was about 22 I've never been able to focus while there's distractions. I recognise this is similar for many people, except I think what differentiates it is in what I class as a distraction. I can't listen to music and work, I can't have the TV or a movie on in a background and focus, I often can't finish simple tasks with the distractions presented by people speaking nearby me. Even writing this post with my [Spotify](https://www.spotify.com/us/) Daily Mix playlist of some light industrial music is an exercise in frustration and unfocused bopping.

This brings me pain when I live with someone; I can barely stand to hang out in the same room as a housemate or partner while they're watching TV or playing games because I can't focus when I'm trying to work, write, or code. I even aim my desk in such a way so that I'm facing away from their screens to prevent me getting distracted while they're using headphones - I'm known to often simply stare blankly at their screen or TV even in the absence of sound.

Noise cancelling headphones are definitely a blessing, but they can only do so much. I find white noise too grinding and liable to make me get trapped in my own head. So far the only thing that's managed to be a good blocker (aside from being alone in a quiet room) has been listening to drone metal like [Sunn O)))](https://youtu.be/IswnGaGxvRQ) or [Earth](https://youtu.be/tOUbZJbkHNw).

Even in the absence of distraction, I'll often make my own; I'm a sucker for just scrolling social media to my own detriment and will continuously Alt+Tab out of my work to refresh Twitter/Facebook. Slack at work is such a distraction as well, every few minutes (at most) I'll flick back to it to see if there's any new messages in any channels to catch up on.

I don't know if the components of my condition ([schizoaffective disorder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective_disorder), kind of a mix of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) could be worsening this or what I could do to help it but uhhhh, suggestions welcome.

Hit me up on Twitter at [@judges119](https://twitter.com/judges119) if you have ideas.