This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
And why notifications are destroying your productivity
Whenever I see people who have their “do not disturb” mode publicly shown, I wonder why. A few questions always percolate my mind:
Do they not know they can hide the feature?
Do they know they can turn off their phone?
Do they know they can hide their notifications?
Do they know they can silence their notifications?
Are they actually busy because they’re still responding to my messages?
Why do they feel they have to publicly alienate others from contacting them?
Why would they put do not disturb mode on after they reach out asking for emotional support?
If you want to be alone, then be alone.
If you don’t want to be disturbed, put your phone away.
If you want to sleep peacefully, turn your phone off or put your phone on silent.
If you don’t want to hear from someone, block them, or tell them directly not to message you.
My time is extremely occupied. There might be weeks before I respond to messages at times, but I eventually get back.
Stay Accessible
I love what an executive said, “I’m a busy woman, but there’s no “Do Not Disturb” sign on my office door.” She doesn’t end up helping everybody, but she remains accessible.
Not revealing do not disturb mode keeps you accessible because you don’t have to check or respond to messages immediately. You can live your life on your terms and respond when it’s most convenient.
Successful People Stay Accessible
The most successful people stay accessible because they aim to empower, serve, and help others.
They might not respond to you immediately, but they eventually get back to you and don’t make you feel like you’re wasting their time.
I’m learning that though I’m busy, I can selectively invest time where it matters most. It might hurt some feelings, but my priorities must align with my goals, or I’ll only be robbing myself of progress.
If You Want To Be Productive Do These 4Things
Turn off the tv.
Stop spending so much time on social media.
Put your phone away, turn it off, or put notifications on silent.
Stop mindlessly scrolling the internet or researching every topic that comes to mind, but the time spent doesn’t directly contribute to your goals.
Sometimes you will need alerts turned on, but most of the time, you don’t unless your work requires it. Even with that, I manually check notifications because, at the end of the day, my work is not a life-or-death situation.
People don’t need a response immediately – no matter how important they make you feel they are.
It’s Okay To Be Unreachable!
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.