The Performance Impact of Interruptions

We often believe we can multitask effectively. However, Anthony Wagner, PhD, a psychology professor at Stanford's Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, asserts that “multitasking is largely a misconception, as the human brain isn't built for performing multiple tasks at once.” Instead, what we perceive as multitasking is merely rapid switching between tasks.

This frequent task-switching exacts a toll. We tend to complete tasks more slowly and with greater errors, and it's all too easy to forget one task entirely. More times than I care to admit, I've found myself mindlessly scrolling through a website on my phone, unable to recall why I picked it up in the first place. Constant interruptions hinder my ability to think, converse, write, read, or engage in any meaningful activity.

The Wellness Impact of Digital Distractions

Allowing our phones to disrupt us negatively impacts cognitive functioning and overall performance in activities requiring focus. But what about our mental well-being? Specifically, let’s examine push notifications through the lens of mindfulness.

Managing my thoughts to fully enjoy the present moment is already a challenge; I certainly don’t need my phone complicating things further. Sam Harris, in his book Waking Up, writes, “By practicing mindfulness…one can awaken from the dream of discursive thought and begin to see each image, idea, or piece of language vanish without a trace.” The next notification isn’t likely to help us focus on the present; rather, it often pulls us back into a cycle of distractions.

Through mindfulness, we learn to detach from our thoughts. They will continue to arise, but we don't have to follow their distracting paths. Some thoughts can be beneficial if engaged at the right time, while others—like ruminations on a past comment from your boss—can simply be let go.

The issue with our phone notifications isn’t solely that they are irrelevant (though many are); it’s that they rarely convey urgent or life-altering information. Just as a mindful individual selectively engages with thoughts, one should also control which digital notifications to receive and when to engage with them.

Our engagement with the digital world should typically originate from us, not our devices.

Taking Charge of Your Notifications

Only you can determine what constitutes an urgent message and how those messages should reach you. This varies for each person based on their work and relationships, as well as the time of day or week. For instance, I have enabled notifications for five specific apps:

1. Text messages, which primarily come from friends and family.
2. My dog's GPS collar, so I'm alerted if he goes missing.
3. A meditation app that reminds me to meditate.
4. The medical communication system from my hospital.
5. Phone calls, which I prefer for urgent communications.

Everything else on my phone is muted—no social media alerts, no news updates, and no banking notifications. Over fifty apps have requested permission to notify me, and I’ve turned them all down. Even my email app is set to silent. If something requires immediate attention, people know to text or call me. This way, when my phone does buzz or beep, it's likely to be an important message or a communication from someone I care about.

Ready to make your phone less intrusive? Set aside thirty minutes in your calendar to turn off notifications that don’t genuinely matter to you. Then, dedicate that time to something meaningful.