I have had my office phone on Do Not Disturb for 5 years and my cell phone has all notifications turned off and the ringer is set to off. The only time i turn it on is if I am expecting a call - which is hardly ever. Same with my PC - no notifications...it helps a great deal to keep the tool a tool instead of letting it become your master.

Culling down notifications was a life-changing action for me. Like you, I turned off almost all notifications.

My only notifications were texts/calls from people that depended upon me (my wife, my parents, my best friends). Interacting with apps and my phone in general after that became something either I chose or chose not to do. My phone was no longer an algorithm or other person controlling me, but instead a useful tool.

This is obviously a luxury that I am able to work and live like this, but I would encourage everyone to turn off any notifications they can and see how they feel after a week or month like that, then revisit and turn off more if possible.

I would also say that some form of control is still required. Whether that is self-control, technological control, or control via absence. I struggled a lot with whether I should delete Reddit from my phone to make sure I don't end up in an abyss of lost time. Eventually I settled on moving it a ridiculous number of empty screens over by itself in an unusual spot. If I want to open Reddit now, it is a very deliberate action that gives me time to ask myself "you sure?" but also doesn't take away that option of my life.

> This is obviously a luxury that I am able to work and live like this, but I would encourage everyone to turn off any notifications they can and see how they feel after a week or month like that, then revisit and turn off more if possible.

Why is it a luxury?

I mean, my boss - who is the central hub for a lot of communication - can not live his life this way unless he finds a new job. Obviously that is a choice he has made but either way, I count myself lucky.

But his job is ... to communicate? Even then he could tone it down outside business hours.

Most HNers' job is to write code :)

The only notifications I use on my computer are meeting reminders, otherwise I would forget 90% of them!

I am very brutal in ignoring calls and sending SMS text replies to known IDs that might have something urgent.

I know the prefix is for all of my key numbers like kids schools, hospitals and simply don’t pick up if the prefix is not right.

...What? In what situation does this happen?

If I'm busy then I'll let it go to voicemail and call back.

Why would you answer if you can't talk? That seems a lot more rude to me than not picking up and calling back when you have time.

It gives the other person a chance to tell you if there is an emergency / tell you the urgency of their request, and also lets them know that you know they want to talk to you.

I have a rule with everyone who could have an emergency, 3 calls in a row.

I know it can be burdensome, but I don't answer in an emergency but if I ever see I missed 3 calls then I know it was an emergency.

That works too. Both Apple and Android have built-in support for do-not-disturb policies that will let someone through if they call twice in a row (defined as "within 3 minutes" on Apple and "within 15 minutes" on Android, it seems).

I paid way too much for it, but I have the oneplus 7pro, and it has a slider on the side so I can set it on silent with a single flick of my thumb. In addition to that I have it on DND during the workday and at night.