Turning off notifications — which ones to remove and which ones to keep

Turning off notifications is the simplest change you can make to your phone that actually reduces how often you pick it up. Every notification is a cue that triggers a cycle of checking, and if you remove the cue, you no longer have to resist the urge. The trick is not to turn everything off: remove the notifications that compete for your attention, but keep those from people who need to reach you.

The notification is the starting point, not the distraction

We tend to think of notifications as minor annoyances. But viewed as a behaviour, the notification is something more: it’s the signal that sets the whole chain in motion. A sound, a vibration or a red badge, and your hand is on its way before you’ve even made up your mind. You open the app to see what it was, and once you’re in, it’s the feed that decides when you’ll leave again.

That’s why notifications are a matter of stimulus control, one of the oldest principles in behavioural therapy: it’s easier to change the context surrounding a behaviour than to resist the behaviour once it’s already underway. You can find out more about why your hand moves of its own accord in the article on why you keep checking your mobile.

What the research shows — and what it doesn’t show

There aren’t many experiments on notifications, but those that do exist point in the same direction. Kushlev, Proulx and Dunn asked participants to spend one week with notifications switched on and one week with them switched off and their phones put away. With notifications on, they reported more inattentiveness and more symptoms similar to hyperactivity — difficulty sitting still, and a tendency to get bored easily.

Pielot and Rello asked participants to spend 24 hours completely without push notifications. Many felt more focused and less interrupted. But just as many became anxious about missing something important, and a large proportion switched the notifications back on afterwards.

Both studies are small and short-term, so treat them as a guide rather than proof. The second study also serves as a warning: switching everything off creates a new kind of anxiety, and anxiety also drives the need for control. You’re simply swapping one cue for another. The aim is selectivity, not silence.

Three piles: keep, collect, turn off

Go through your notification settings once, app by app, and sort them into three piles.

Keep what comes from someone who needs to reach you right now: calls, texts and messages from those closest to you. This is where there’s a real risk of missing something, and this is where notifications are a service.

Group together what’s important but not urgent: emails, calendar events, work chats. Turn off sounds and vibrations; leave the notifications in your list and read them when you choose to. Anyone who checks their emails every time their phone beeps will find out more about this in the article on interruptions at work.

Switch off everything else: social media, news apps, shopping apps, games, and apps that notify you when someone you don’t know has liked something. These notifications are there to lure you back into the app, not to help you.

Also, turn off the red badges on the icons. The number on the home screen is a notification that never goes away — it stays there and pulls at you until you’ve opened the app.

Why they keep coming back

Most people who clear out their notifications find they’re back again after a few weeks. There are three common reasons.

Apps ask for permission again. An update, a new feature or a question in the app — ‘do you want to know when your friends post something?’ — and you tap ‘yes’ without thinking.

New apps start with everything turned on. Every app you install is a new source of notifications until you say no.

And the fear of missing out. If you’ve turned off a notification that actually mattered, you’ll often switch them all back on just to be on the safe side. That’s why it pays to be generous with the ‘keep’ pile and strict with the rest.

The routine that works: every time an app asks for permission to send notifications, the answer is ‘no’ unless it’s from a person. And once a month: open the list and see what’s crept in.

When that’s not enough

Without notifications, a large part of the reasons for picking up your phone disappears. But not all of them. Many checks happen of their own accord — out of boredom, during a break, when you’re feeling uneasy. In those moments, it’s not the sound that’s the cue, but the state you’re in. Notifications are a good first step because they’re simple. The trickier part is noticing what happens when nothing beeps and you still reach for your phone. You’ll find the full picture in the guide on how to stop scrolling.

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Zenith Protocol is a 30-day programme for impulse control: one short task a day, and a button for those moments when the impulse strikes anyway. It’s free to get started.