Ping! Ding Ding! BUZZZ…
Apps, emails, texts, calls, the notifications of something new are constantly trying to reach us as competition for attention grows. Even some web browsers are tying to get us to get ourselves up for alerts to websites! That can make it harder and harder to keep focused and productive to achieve the things we want. A big reason is that it causes task swapping where we lose time, and as we described in our productivity blocker: task swapping article, the totals can be as high as 40% of time gets lost!
Here’s what the science says.
According to a NIH study, those who muted notifications significantly reduced interruptions and blocking notifications increased performance.
Daniel Rose and RescueTime write in their article that a single new email resulted in 6 different notifications.
Do Not Disturb and Focus Modes
If the idea of completely muting alerts forever doesn’t seem feasible, then this tip is for you. The NIH study found that for some of those with FOMO, or fear of missing out, blocking notifications was especially helpful. Some of us can’t mute them forever, though.
Do not disturb and focus modes can temporarily mute all the alerts to help us focus while making them available as soon as the mode is turned off. Depending on your device, you can also potentially schedule a time block where alerts are muted and then end automatically. Have a few people you want to make sure get through in case of an emergency? Don’t worry, many can be configured to allow certain kinds of calls or messages through just in case!
- Apple Instructions: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd6288a67f/ios
- Android Instructions: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9069335?hl=en
Notifications and Alert Batching
For some, it might be better to just close the apps, shut off screens, and be able to focus for a while. In this case, it might be best to create a set “checking schedule” where, at certain intervals, you can check for notifications or emails.
For example, you could have a schedule of when you get started for the day, just before lunch and 45 minutes after lunch, and 3 pm. This allows you to have enough time to be up to date without breaking your deep work. Just know you might have to discuss the schedule with your leader, so they know to come talk to you if something important pops up between checking intervals!
Tech Free Zones
If you really want to stop notifications and dig in deep into things, then creating a tech-free zone might be a good thing to try out. Imagine taking your idea or project and having a team work on it with just notebook paper, poster paper, or whiteboards without a single phone or laptop available. Close the door to the room and have deep focus on the task at hand and you just might gain new insights! These tech-free zones are so effective that the Sleep Foundation recommends them for our bedrooms to get better sleep!
