{"id":109895,"date":"2018-10-10T06:30:28","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T04:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=109895"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:55:19","slug":"how-to-overcome-notification-overload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-overcome-notification-overload\/","title":{"rendered":"How to overcome notification overload"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"notifications\"<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that receiving text messages and mobile notifications trigger the release of dopamine. In lay terms, this means that notifications make us feel good when we receive them\u2014and we may have negative feelings when we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

If that sounds like the symptoms of addiction, you\u2019re not wrong. Notifications have an addictive quality and may put our decision-making skills at risk, too.<\/p>\n

Additionally, too many alerts can cause anxiety. Think of work emails blinking on your screen during a date. Or incessant Slack alerts, Facebook messages, and news updates.<\/p>\n

In short, notifications are driving us mad. Here’s a look at what they do and what we can do to reclaim at least some of our sanity.<\/p>\n

How to overcome notification overload<\/h2>\n

Negative effects<\/h3>\n

Smartphone notifications can trigger the release of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol increases your heart rate, makes your palms sweaty, and tenses up your muscles. Cortisol might even harm brain chemistry and cause stem cells to malfunction.<\/p>\n

And, if you don\u2019t believe notifications are wreaking havoc on our collective well-being, it’s worth pointing out that both Apple and Android have developed features like the do-not-disturb mode and time monitoring features.<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s iOS 12 now comes with enhancements<\/a><\/span> to DND mode\u2014including a bedtime mode that dims the display. They also hide notifications on the lock screen until morning rolls around. Here\u2019s an account from someone who states that the Apple Watch amplified their notification anxiety<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, how do we maintain a healthy relationship with technology, when cutting it out altogether isn\u2019t realistic?<\/p>\n

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Turn it all off<\/h3>\n

Turn off notifications for specific apps or for everything.<\/p>\n

Yeah, yeah it sounds impossible, sure. But do you need<\/em> to see each item pass through your home screen?<\/p>\n

The thing is, no one will be contacting you via Twitter or email if there\u2019s a real emergency. So, disable the push notifications and breathe a bit easier.<\/p>\n

Here’s a short video that shows how to disable notifications on your iPhone:<\/p>\n

Set aside times for checking apps<\/h3>\n

Notifications are so new that there\u2019s no set window of time that you have to respond.<\/p>\n

While some work environments require users to be connected at all times, switching to manual check-ins at specific times can help you mitigate some of that anxiety you\u2019re dealing with.<\/p>\n

Figure out a schedule that works for you. Check in in the morning\u2014and respond to anything that qualifies as urgent. Check in again later in the afternoon to respond to any midday requests, and be done with it.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, if you feel like you\u2019re truly addicted, you could monitor your habits using a tool like Rescue Time or StayFocusd<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Do Not Disturb<\/h3>\n

\"Apple<\/p>\n

Both Google and Apple have do not disturb settings\u00a0built into their devices. This allows you to keep your phone from making the little noises and vibrations that are oh-so addictive.<\/p>\n

Consider apps to consolidate notifications<\/h3>\n

Notifications, of course, aren\u2019t always bad. Sometimes, it\u2019s just a matter of getting everything in one place or changing the presentation to suit your needs.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using a few different instant messaging systems\u2014think Slack<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, Skype<\/a>, Facebook Messenger<\/a>\u2014it pays to look for a tool that can make this all seem more manageable. Here are some options:<\/p>\n

Pushbullet<\/h3>\n

Pushbullet is an app that spreads your notifications across your phone, computers, and other devices. Which, we admit, sounds terrible at first, but the real benefit is you\u2019ll be able to tackle your collection of alerts faster\u2014and dismiss them accordingly.<\/p>\n

This might not work for everyone, but it stands to help you cut back on the amount of time you spend checking your phone.<\/p>\n

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IFTTT<\/h3>\n

If This Then That, or IFTTT, is another fave for cross-device alerts. Use the tool to set up custom alerts. It takes a bit of time to get set up, but basically, you can use the tool to override your existing notifications systems and come up with something that works better for you.<\/p>\n

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Franz<\/h3>\n

Franz is an app that allows you to add all of your messaging accounts to its interface. Add Gmail, Facebook, Telegram, and others to the account, and respond to everything from one place.<\/p>\n

Another benefit of Franz is, you can add multiple accounts per platform, so if you\u2019re managing multiple accounts for business, you don\u2019t have to log in and out to respond.<\/p>\n

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All-in-One Messenger<\/h3>\n

All-in-One Messenger<\/a> is kind of like Franz, but this option lives inside the browser, no download required.<\/p>\n

Again, you can add all of your accounts\u2014even duplicates\u2014and opt into desktop notifications and reply as they come in. You can mute all or some of these channels, too, if you need some peace and quiet.<\/p>\n

Wrapping it all up<\/h3>\n

While all of this feels a little depressing, we can\u2019t help but feel hopeful that we\u2019re starting to prioritize how to use technology in a more mindful manner.<\/p>\n

Between the do-not-disturbs and the myriad focusing apps on the market, it\u2019s clear that we\u2019re starting to rethink our relationships with notifications.<\/p>\n

So, give it a try\u2014consolidate your apps, experiment with a few \u201cdark\u201d periods and find what works. In any case, you can plug back in at any time.<\/p>\n\n

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Phone blowing up? Here’s how to push those notifications aside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9161,"featured_media":110946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-109895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327240,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109895\/revisions\/327240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109895"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=109895"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=109895"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=109895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}