Deciding what is allowed to interrupt you
Sort your notifications into ones that ring and ones that wait.
Most phones arrive assuming every app is equally important. Almost none of them are.
A notification is a small request for your attention. A bank fraud alert has earned it. A store telling you about a sale has not. The phone cannot tell the difference, so you decide once and it holds.
Modern phones give you three settings per app, not two. An app can be loud, it can be quiet, or it can be off. Quiet is the one most people never discover. The message still arrives and waits in the list, but nothing rings and nothing lights up the screen.
Sort your apps by asking one question: if this arrives at 3 in the morning, does it matter? Calls from family, yes. A game, no. Almost everything else is quiet.
Key points
- A notification is a request, and most apps have not earned it.
- Quiet delivery keeps the message and drops the sound.
- Some apps sort their own notices into categories.
- Do Not Disturb can still let chosen people ring through.
- Decide once, and the phone holds the line for you.
What to remember
- Quiet is not off. The message still waits for you.
- Before silencing a whole app, check whether it lets you keep the part you need.
- Put the two or three people who matter on the allowed list, then let the phone be quiet.
Try this
Open your notification settings and set the three chattiest apps to deliver quietly, then leave your phone face up for an afternoon and notice how much calmer it feels.
Practice: Deciding what is allowed to interrupt you. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.