Also:
I have two good friends who are both local window cleaners. They are both competition to me, but we each have our 'preferred' areas (eventhough we overlap) and we each have our own style of 'preferred' work, so we're a bit like the Three Musketeers!
Naturally, i'm the good looking one!!!
Anyway...
I usually phone them every day and talk 'crap' for an hour or so. I certainly don't feel alone when i'm on the phone chatting!
Chatting whilst working probably slows me down by 10 percent, but no more.