Turn Off Notifications and Detox

Welcome to the 20 Habit Challenge, where we break down key habits that can help you simplify and transform your money, home, and life!

Have you ever felt like you just can't get into the groove? Or it's hard to follow the conversation because your mind is wandering?

It seems like one the most useful pieces of tech – smartphones – has made us more distracted and added more stress to our lives.

Mastering your Smartphone

Our smartphones are credible pieces of technology and they can be so helpful with us organizing or calendars keeping things right there by us.

That strength is also a weakness when we feel like we are tied to our phone.

There have been times where I and my friends have felt uncomfortable when we've forgotten our phones.

Why?

We feel like we're missing out on something and a big part of that is the flood of notifications.

Even if they are benign things like games, almost every app makes has them on by default.

And that can take a toll on us.

Today’s habit is about stopping that cycle of checking your phone every 5 minutes.

Turn Off Notifications on Your Smartphone

I want you to turn off all those needless notifications on your phone.

Sounds easy, but doing it can be difficult.

Are you already trying to justify why you need to have them on?

If you need to keep tabs on certain things (like email for work), leave them on.

Go ahead and start with less crucial ones, like your games.

I had two games that enjoyed that sent notifications through the day. One was less intrusive since it vibrated, but there other was loud.

I didn't realize how much they were controlling my attention until I turned the notifications off.

Still, have them, but now I have a set time where I play. They're fun, but they're not taking over my day.

Need Help with Notifications?

If you're stuck on how exactly do this, one of my favorite sites, Break the Twitch, has a quick video on how to do that.

Your Take on Doing a Digital Detox

I'd love to hear from you and get your take. which apps do you absolutely need to keep notifications on? Which ones drive you nuts?