Research from UC Irvine found it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus after an interruption. A notification — even if you don't act on it — counts as an interruption. Your brain registers it, loses the thread, and has to rebuild context.
If you get just 10 notifications per hour, you're losing your entire productive capacity to context switching.
The average knowledge worker is interrupted every 3 minutes. That's not working with interruptions — that's interruptions with occasional work.
The Notification Audit
Go through your devices and ask for each notification:
Does this need my immediate attention?
What's the worst that happens if I see it in an hour?
Can I check this on my schedule instead?
Most notifications are not urgent. They just feel urgent because they ping.
Notification Tiers
Tier 1: Immediate — Only true emergencies (maybe calls from family)
Tier 2: Scheduled — Check during breaks (email, Slack, messages)
Tier 3: When bored — Social media, news (disable all notifications)
Tier 4: Never — Turn off entirely (most app notifications)
Implementation Strategies
Turn off badge counts — The red number is psychological manipulation
Use Do Not Disturb — Schedule focus hours automatically
Batch check communications — Check email/Slack at set times
Keep phone in another room — Physical distance helps
Use focus mode — All platforms have them now
Uninstall the worst offenders — Use web versions instead
Breaks, Not Notifications
Replace reactive notification checking with proactive breaks:
Set a timer for focused work periods
When the timer goes off, take a break AND check messages
You decide when to be interrupted, not your apps
This turns checking into a reward, not a distraction