You may not realize it, but every buzz or ping from your phone plays a significant role in reducing your productivity. While a few notifications genuinely require your immediate attention, most only break your flow. Studies show that frequent notifications not only distract you from whatever you’re doing but also increase inattention, take a toll on your performance, and negatively affect your mood.
I used to think I could simply put my phone on silent or ignore the pings to stay focused, but that didn’t help. Even little things, like my phone’s screen lighting up for a silent notification, were enough to break my focus. I’d lose my train of thought, reread the same line of text, or forget what I was about to do. Research suggests that minimizing the number of notifications is the only sure-shot way to stay focused and productive. And a few simple tweaks helped me achieve exactly that.
Limit which apps can send notifications
Most don’t need your immediate attention
Both iOS and Android give you control over which apps can push notifications. You should utilize this feature to disable notification access for non-essential apps, because that fresh meme from your friend or discount alert from your favorite food delivery app can wait until later.
If you use an iPhone, disabling notifications for an app is as simple as navigating to the Notification section in Settings and turning off the Allow Notifications toggle for apps that don’t need to bother you. On Android, you can manage notification access by navigating to the Notifications section in the Settings app, selecting App notifications, and tapping the toggle next to non-essential apps.
Utilize the silent notifications options
Get updates without the noise
If you don’t want to turn off an app’s notifications entirely, but also don’t want it to interrupt you while you work, you can choose to receive silent notifications from that app. You can set up silent notifications on your iPhone by navigating to the Notifications section in Settings, selecting an app, enabling the Allow Notifications toggle, and then turning off the Sounds toggle.
Android users can tap on the app name in the App notifications section and turn off the Sound and vibration toggle to achieve the same result. On Pixel devices running Android 16, the Silent button is hidden within the various Notification categories, and you must silence each category for an app to be completely muted.
Keep group chats on mute
Quiet notifications, no drama
Constant pings from an active group chat can be incredibly annoying when you’re trying to get work done. While you might feel tempted to leave the group chat altogether, most messaging apps allow you to mute notifications from group chats. It’s an easy way to avoid the constant barrage of messages without the awkwardness of having to explain why you left.
Most major messaging apps, including iMessage and WhatsApp, allow you to mute group chats either indefinitely or for a set period. In most cases, you can do so by opening the group chat, accessing its settings, and hitting the mute button. In iMessage, however, you can also slide left on the group chat to access the mute button quickly.
Turn off email push notifications
Check emails on your schedule
Turning off push notifications for emails may seem risky. What if you miss something urgent? But in my experience, very few emails demand an instant response, and checking your inbox at regular intervals throughout the day is far less distracting. If you get in the habit of checking your emails in batches at different times throughout the day, you’ll have an easier time focusing on important tasks.
I recommend disabling notifications for your email apps and manually checking them two or three times a day: once when you start work, again after lunch, and maybe once more before logging off. This way, you can keep your inbox under control without getting distracted by constant notifications. And if something truly urgent lands in your inbox, chances are the sender will call, text, or reach out on chat anyway.
Ditch notification badges
They do more harm than good
Those tiny red dots on app icons might seem useful, but they’re surprisingly good at pulling your attention away from what you originally picked up your phone to do. By disabling the badges, you remove the constant visual reminder that you have pending notifications, making it easier to stay focused on the task at hand.
To disable notification badges on iOS, head to the Notifications section in Settings, select an app from the Notification style list, and turn off the Badges toggle on the following page. On Android, navigate to the Notification section in the Settings app, select App notifications, tap on an app on the following page, and then turn off the Allow notification dot option.
Utilize DND and Focus modes
Quiet times are non-negotiable
Do Not Disturb (DND) and Focus modes are also great tools to cut out distractions at work, during meals and workouts, or when you’re simply taking some much-needed “me time.” I rely heavily on iOS’ Focus feature both during work and after I’ve logged off for the day. It has not only boosted my productivity but also helped me spend more quality time with my family.
You can set it up on your iPhone by navigating to the Focus option in Settings, selecting one of the pre-made Focus options, or creating a custom one based on your needs. If your iPhone has Apple Intelligence, you can also use the Reduce Interruptions Focus, which automatically filters only the most important notifications.
Android users can use the DND feature to a similar effect. It allows you to limit notifications during predefined hours, while also providing the option to whitelist specific contacts and apps so that you don’t miss important alerts. Alternatively, you can use third-party apps like Buzzkill or Focus Friend to manage which notifications are allowed to disturb you during work hours.
Set custom sounds for priority alerts
Easily distinguish important notifications
If turning off notifications or using silent notifications doesn’t work for you, assigning unique sounds to priority notifications is another easy way to tell important alerts apart from the daily notification flood. By assigning custom sounds to messages from family, close friends, or coworkers, you can instantly know whether a ping deserves your attention without picking up your phone. While not ideal, this can be a viable option for those who cannot afford to turn off or silence notifications.
Both iOS and Android allow you to set custom notification sounds. On iPhones, you can set up custom sounds for specific people within the Contacts app, or customize the notification sound for apps like WhatsApp and Slack from the app’s settings. Similarly, on Android, you can change the notification sound for individual contacts using the Contacts app or customize the tones for specific communication apps.
Small changes, big results
If you implement these notification changes on your phone, you should notice a significant improvement within a few days. You might experience a bit of FOMO at first, but once that fades, you’ll find it easier to focus on work, your productivity will improve, and the absence of constant pings will give you a welcome sense of calm during downtime.
