If someone goes to talk to another developer on the team about the project, is that wasted productivity?

If someone calls another developer on the team about the project, is that wasted productivity?

If someone emails another developer on the team about the project, is that wasted productivity?

If someone sends an SMS (txt msg) to another developer on the team about the project, is that wasted productivity?

So, why is sending an IM to another developer on the team automatically assumed to be a waste in productivity?

Now, letting just about anything interrupt you can be an issue to productivity, however, the developers I work with use all these tools to communicate since we are at various locations. There is an understanding to not let it interrupt but to check these messages when possible, and not to abuse the “Instant” messaging.

I did get written up on a job because I was having a discussion with a developer at another company via IM, because I was using IM and not a phone. This developer was in high demand and preferred IM My boss felt IM was just for playing around.. .and would not remove or amend the write up even after I showed him the logs of all the conversations I had with the other developer (and showed that I have saved him time and money by using this method.)

Guess I am a little touchy about the subject of IM not being a productive tool in the right hands.

I am starting to believe that computer multitasking is a productivity myth, and I am getting much better results when managing distraction properly. I like IM, and often it might see feasible to multitask, but it “works” for me only when I am chatting with a person I have really good connection with and when I am working on something that is quite personal and engaging for me. When anything is less than than, it multitasking productivity goes down rapidly when compared to single-tasking.

Thank you for Stowe Boyd’s quote as well. This is something I don’t usually realize consciously. Now, let’s make my contacts put this quote on their desktop wallpapers ))

In any case, I am going experiment for next few days with IM off, and I have also blocked access to websites that I tend to check more often than necessary. Simply said, am learning single tasking and managing distractions.

Another question I have is: What is the standard deviation for the number of unique applications touched and websites visited?