The irony of this blog post is that I wrote the title and then lost focus and checked my phone. For no reason at all—just out of habit. You win some, you lose some. 

But today, I want to share one little trick I use to stay focused.  

We get so many notifications throughout the day, whether it’s on our computer, our phones, or even our watches. When we are interrupted by a notification, buzz, ding, or something else, it takes our focus away from the task at hand and greatly reduces our productivity (one study found that it took people 25 minutes to get back to what they were doing after an interruption!). A lot of people are also compelled to clear the notification bubble hanging over their apps shortly after it appears, too, which is another form of distraction. 

The simple solution? Turn off notifications. 

All of them. Or at least, most of them. Social media. Door Dash. Mail. Any notification that isn’t imperative that you see immediately—turn it off! I do have notifications (but not sounds!) on for messaging apps, but other than that, all my notifications are turned off. I’m so much more focused when my phone isn’t vibrating or showing notifications on my lock screen all the time! 

To take it a step further…

Use your new friend, Do Not Disturb. I have it on almost constantly on my laptop so that I’m not distracted when I’m working. I don’t use it quite as frequently on my phone, but when I need to focus, I turn it on and set my phone face down & out of arm’s reach. You can manage the settings so that people will still be able to get in touch with you if needed, but you’ll be free from tech distractions that aren’t urgent. 

Give it a try—and let me know if you’re more focused and productive! It might take a minute to detox from constantly checking your phone (it does for me, often!), but I think you’ll find the long-term benefits are incredibly helpful! 

(P.S. Curious to know other ways I stay productive and focused? Read more here!)

---

Pin this to read later!