If you’re anything like me, you like to do things quickly and get back to people right away. It is a blessing and a curse.
And quarantine may have blurred the line between work and your personal life so setting boundaries is important. Removing your notifications from your my apps can be liberating. It may give you the mini digital detox you need.
Before I removed notifications from all of my apps, I would see that red bubble pop up on my phone with any number no matter how big or small and feel the most powerful urge and impulse to see the message and respond immediately.
What’s wrong with that you might ask? Well, a lot of things which is why I’ve turned them off do EVERY app. Letting notifications pop up is allowing your phone to run your life even more than it already does. Your precious focus and time is disrupted and you are more likely to respond to messages reactively and hastily which will not help clear, thoughtfully crafted communication the people and coworkers you care about need.
Yes, they may get the message later than if you’d had the notifications turned on, but the response will be better and possibly more complete preventing wasted time in the future due to miscommunication. Trust me.
You will still check these apps for messages even if the notifications are turned off. The best part about responding on your own time is that’s it’s when you are ready to respond and are focused not when your phone wants you to.
How empowering and reassuring is that!?
Here’s how to change your settings on most phones:
- Open your settings
- Find Notification settings
- Select each app and remove notifications or select “badge icon off”
Try it for a day and please share your experience!
By Staci Alden, Group Fitness Director at PRO Club
