“I need noise-cancelling headphones because my coworkers have discovered the concept of talking.”

We moved to an open-plan office in March. It’s a nice office. It’s also where three people take every call on speaker.

I write for a living, so I need to hear myself think. I’ve tried foam earplugs, lo-fi playlists and loud sighing. Only one of those worked, and I’m not proud of it.

I borrowed a friend’s Sony WH-1000XM5 for one afternoon and finished a brief I’d been stuck on for a week. That’s the pair.