Ding! A new mail notification appears.
Chirp! A friend just mentioned you on twitter.
Bleep! Someone just liked your facebook post.
Many of us are bombarded every day by the various sounds, message boxes, and vibrations made by our desktop computers, phones, and tablets when a new notification arrives.
Many years ago when I first started using a desktop email application, I changed the settings to check the server for new mail in the shortest interval possible, I think it was every minute. I wanted read that new mail the instant I received it.
Later, I clearly recall being in awe of the notification options available to me when I bought my first smartphone. Suddenly, I could receive notifications about text messages, news, weather alerts, sports scores, social network interactions, and more. Nearly every app on my phone provided some kind of notification.
Within a year, I was experiencing notification overload and decided I needed to eliminate as much of the notification distractions from my life as possible. If anything, just to get my some sanity back in my life.
There were two things I did to get the notifications under control and reduce the distractions.