Death by Notifications

250,000 years ago all we had to worry about was finding food, a place to poop and burn calories by procreating (having sex). Life was simple. The circle of people we communicated with on a daily basis was small. We didn’t die. 

We thrived. Now we all have the new thousand dollar phones. 

So let’s not re-invent the wheel.

Pull out your phone and check the number of notifications you received last week. Fill in the blank below:

I got _______ notifications per day last week.

Now divide that by the number of hours you’re usually awake. Let’s say you’re a good human and you get 8 hours of sleep. Divide that number by 16. 

What’s your answer?

______ notifications per hour.

Does this number frighten you or give you confidence that you’re operating at your maximum potential? 

For me, it was 97 notifications. PER DAY. 

Or 6 notifications per hour.

I’m sharing this with you because I’m not a saint. I’m a work in progress too. This number is high despite having no social media on my phone. It’s mostly messages and calendar reminders, but still! Six interruptions per hour is far too much for me. 

Earlier in the year when I started writing this book, I realised how big this problem real was. Most things in the office didn’t require a huge amount of focus as I had become good at stuff over time, but writing a book? I needed some serious brain power. Every writer knows the secret to writing is re-writing. Clear writing requires clear thinking. 

I couldn’t think clearly. I had so much brain fog that I literally wasn’t able to make coherent sentences. I would allocate an hour to write and I would catch myself spending most of that hour scrolling social media without even realising it. Replying to messages I didn’t need to. Scrolling through emails I didn’t need to. It had become automatic. It was frightening that I couldn’t control this impluse. So I had to make a drastic change, and I started it with notifications. 

This is the 4th re-write of this book. It would not have been possible without dealing with the pain of having fewer notifications. 

The pain of failure for me was much more powerful than missing notifications. That’s the key.

Imagine you have a superpower that only appears when you can focus. Pretend you’re the ‘chosen one’ and you have boundless power. You just need to learn how to control it. I have good new and bad news. The good news is that I’m not making this up. You do have a superpower. It’s your ability to think clearly and innovate. The bad news is you don’t know it’s there so you’re letting the distractions overtake you.

Since ‘detoxing’ from notifications, my improvement in my focus has been nothing short of a miracle. Yes, I still get around 97 notifications per day but it was much much higher in the past. I also use time blocks to check my phone now rather than let it distract me from whatever I’m working on. The ‘Do not disturb’ mode is your best friend. 

Here we go. 

Picture yourself at your absolute peak. Whether this was at work, doing something you enjoy or even working out. Picture yourself at your peak. Imagine it in first person, not as a by-stander. Take a minute to look up from reading and really remember an amazing moment. Close your eyes if you need to.

Have you got an image in your mind? 

Good.

Did you see a phone? I don’t.

Do you want to experience more of these moments? Then go to your settings and turn off all notifications, except maybe messages and calendar. That’s the start. You won’t miss anything vital, you’re not going to die. This is the start of recapturing your focus. It’s the start of your clear thinking. Unlock your superpower bro. I’m here rooting for you.

Now, about the other noise…

I had been an avid user of the Apple Watch since 2017. My reason for buying it was to  pay for a drink if I was out for a run without my phone and track my fitness. That purpose slowly expanded to the point where I was replying to emails on the watch. It was silly. I couldn't even read them properly on the small screen. It slowly became an anxiety triggering strap-on. If you have one, turn the notifications off for everything. Keep it for time and fitness. You won't believe the amount of headspace this gives you.

And while we're on the topic of notifications, there is one more that you probably have enabled. It's the email that pops up on your laptop when you get a new email, usually in the bottom right corner. Same story here, go to settings and switch it off. That small distraction is costing you more time and headspace than you think. Some studies cite that it takes you 6 minutes to get back to full focus, where others say it's more like 23 minutes. It’s a lot of time. I prefer to make effective use of it as I’m sure you do.

If you’re worried about missing out on your calendar reminders, there’s a solution - leave them enabled. Most email systems have the ability to turn off notifications for emails, and leave them on for your calendar. Sometimes the day runs away from you and you forget about that ‘important’ meeting in 15 minutes. It’s worth keeping a reminder for that. 

One final thing on this. If your outlook or whatever system you use to manage emails opens automatically when you start your laptop, turn off that function. You need to be ruthless with how much time you spend on this admin task, so make sure you only see your emails in the time blocks you have set.

The first few days doing this routine will be tough and you'll find yourself instinctively checking  your phone, or automatically opening up emails on your computer. Resist. Wait for the 11am calendar reminder to check them (or whatever time suits you). After you get through the first week it'll become easier, I promise. A month from now you're going to be a god. You’ll be throwing lightning bolts at mortals to get them to wake up and take control of their headspace. 

“Your focus determines your reality” - Qui-Gon Jinn

You’ve got this.