Turn Off Your Notifications

“But he didn’t get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts.”  — Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron1

Contemplation, deep thinking, and problem solving take time and focus. This is one of the reasons why it is often called the “train of thought”. Like any train, damage or remove a section of rail and the train stops or crashes. Notifications do exactly that – they cause your focus to derail.

The world has become full of beeps, buzzes, sound clips, and blinking lights. In fact, chances are you have notifications cycling through the top of your screen while reading this. These constant distractions are having a noticeable impact on our attention spans. In 2004, attention spans clocked in at an average of two and a half minutes. Within the last five to six years, this average has fallen to about 47 seconds2. In a study observing students who were allowed distractions during class vs. those who were not, those with external stimuli displayed mental fatigue, tested worse, and had lower GPAs compared to their counterparts3. Unsurprisingly, this carries into work life as well. Workers who task switch take 50% more time to complete a task and are 40% less productive4.

It would be unreasonable to turn all notifications off all the time. But there is a time for distraction and there is a time for focus. If you mind was a whiteboard, then each notification is like wiping it clean with an eraser. When doing deep thinking or tasks which require concentration, turn off notifications or implement a notification blocker during your work block. Consciously check your phone only when you need a breather. Be in control of your distractions in order to get more done in a focused manner. This allows you to complete the task at hand so you can go have fun with a clear conscious.

Action: Turn off notifications during your focus periods this week. Track how it impacts your productivity.

Hint: Build in analog nights.

Further Reading:

  1. Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron
  2. Speaking of Psychology: Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD
  3. Distracted learning: Big problem and golden opportunity
  4. Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching

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