I did something revolutionary. I turned off Facebook notifications on my phone. It’s been so liberating, I thought I would share it with you, in case it may be a real blessing for you, too.
I do a lot of work on my iPhone. I find it easier to navigate than the screen reader on my computer. So, I send most emails and do most browsing on my phone. I found that I was really distracted by some things–little red circles with a number in it on my phone apps. A little red circle would appear on my Facebook app indicating I had a notification. So many times throughout the day I felt compelled to open the app and see what the notification was about. I suppose if you work on your computer, you may have a similar distraction.
But the distraction didn’t end there. With the increasing popularity of Facebook live, I was getting notifications in a banner that “so-and-so is live now.” I found it would tell me that for everyone I know on Facebook, even if I hardly know them in real life. I think I was even being notified on a locked screen.
So I went into Facebook notifications to check out my options. I don’t remember if I could turn off just Facebook live notifications, but I decided to try turning them all off instead. And it’s been great!
I’ve been checking Facebook once or twice a day and I’m not feeling like it’s running my life anymore. My work time is more focused now. I can check out what’s going on with other people when it’s convenient for me rather than a minute after they post something.
If you find that Facebook is more of a time-sucker-upper than you’d like, maybe you can try turning off the notifications, too. They are still there when you open the app, but they won’t grab your attention when you want to be doing something else.
Now I’m working up the courage to turn off notifications on my email. That’s a little scarier for me. What if I miss something important and don’t reply in an ultra-timely fashion? It seems so old-fashioned to not be plugged in all the time.
But I talked to someone the other day who checks email only twice a day and she likes it a lot. What a concept! Maybe I’ll give it a try. I certainly am enjoying choosing when to spend time on Facebook instead of feeling hijacked by the notifications. It’s liberating to have more control of my time and I think you might enjoy it, too.
