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Industry observers note that i find them distracting and a real productivity killer, and I don’t think I’m alone here. This UC Irvine productivity paper shows that workers bounce around between different “spheres” of work (especially in the morning), and that it can take up to a whopping 23 minutes to return to an earlier flow state if you’re distracted. Well, maybe not notifications themselves, but what they implicitly represent: pieces of information or action that you need to act on or react to right now.
According to the latest update, let’s talk about managing (or even eliminating) notifications on your Windows PC. So, how do we minimize these distractions and stay focused?
The report highlights that the focus of this newsletter is productivity: from programs to devices to peripherals, all with the idea to get what you need to get done, efficiently. Welcome to PCWorld’s newsletter, Smart Mode!
According to the latest update, if you want the most recent issue in your inbox each week, just sign up right here. I’m your host, Mark Hachman, covering the productivity tips, tools, and trends that you need to know about, both from within PCWorld and beyond.
The report highlights that click it (if it’s not already on) and you’ll turn on the capability. A few little “Z’s” visually demonstrate that your notifications are sleeping. Traditionally, Windows handled this via Do Not Disturb, the teeny little “bell” icon way down in the lower-right-hand corner of the Action Center.
As part of the ongoing story, and snoozing your notifications still permits “priority” notifications, including alarms, to trigger. Do Not Disturb is also a capability of Focus Time, part of the Windows revised Clock application. Focus Time assumes that you simply don’t want to be disturbed by extraneous notifications in brief, half-hour periods where you want to jam on a task and complete it. Snoozing your notifications still lets them in; they’ll stack up for future review in a vertical column along the right side of your monitor whenever you open the Action Center.
According to the latest update, why wouldn’t you want your life completely free of such distractions? Windows already sends you the most inane updates: the results of malware scans, “this day in” Microsoft Photos, a note that it snapped a screenshot using the Snipping Tool. And that’s before all of the third-party content: social media, app updates and promotions, and so on. I think that’s nuts.
The report highlights that and I’d like to conclude by proposing a more radical change altogether: Start entirely disabling notifications for most apps. At the very least, I’m now convinced that you should leave Do Not Disturb on, perpetually.
According to the latest update, the first, Privacy & Security > Notifications, looks intriguingly like it might do something useful, but it really doesn’t. A second set of controls, System> Notifications, is where you can begin taking action. Control over your notifications lives in two places inside your Windows Settings menu.
Industry observers note that i’m not there yet, for one big reason I’ll explain below. Still, I think you should take an aggressive stance toward some of these settings, using the drop-down caret menus to fine-tune your choices. At the top is a master control switch: you can toggle notifications on or off, in their entirety.
Industry observers note that let’s begin at the bottom of the page, where your choices will have the most impact.
According to the latest update, (In the screenshot below, you’ll see that Windows has organized the apps by frequency, with the most recent at the top.) More importantly, each app has its own separate sub-page, with the same basic controls. Here’s the notification page for the Windows Snipping Tool in the default configuration:. For each app running on your machine, you’ll have an option to turn off notifications entirely.
As part of the ongoing story, i’d uncheck the first, but recommend keeping the latter checked for now. The notifications center is basically your Windows spam folder, keeping notifications out of sight. In the example above, you have two major options: leave the banner as it is (“Show notification banners”) or banish it to the notification center (“Show notifications in notification center”).
Industry observers note that you do not. Likewise, you don’t need Windows to alert you to a fresh version of Solitaire or to a fresh app for Adobe.). (Do you really need Windows to tell you that you’ve taken a screen snip?
As part of the ongoing story, you might want to allow your laptop’s utility programs to send you an alert if a fault is detected… or not! Your call. I tend to work up from the bottom of the list of applications, more aggressively removing notifications entirely (bye, Dropbox promotion) or at least banishing them to the notification center as I start working my way to the top.
According to the latest update, conversely, the Notifications settings menu allows you to set “priority” notifications or the ability to let all notifications generated by a particular app go through.
Industry observers note that it also treats Outlook as one app, when Outlook contains two major discrete functions: your calendar and email. Windows treats them the same… with no indication that separate controls exist. They do! Well, to some extent, and only within the Outlook app. The thing that drives me nuts is that Windows treats all applications equally here, which absolutely shouldn’t be the case.
Industry observers note that you’ll see options to set your email notifications as “Desktop,” meaning a standard desktop notification or “None.” Alternatively, you can also choose to highlight email from “favorite” contacts, showing a notification and even playing a special sound when an email arrives. Inside the Outlook app, go into Settings, then General > Notifications.
The report highlights that (To set a contact as a favorite, hover your mouse cursor over the person sending you the email, go down to the three-dot menu, then add them as a favorite contact.).
According to the latest update, if you use Outlook’s Focused Inbox, which dates back nearly a decade at this point, I’ve found that it tends to default to only showing those emails as notifications, which tends to be a nice compromise between a constant barrage of inbox-related notifications and none at all.
As part of the ongoing story, email can sometimes wait, but I don’t want to inconvenience anyone I’ve agreed to meet with. Honestly, Outlook is the reason I haven’t killed my Windows notifications entirely.
Industry observers note that why? Because notifications are an anachronism. As I said, though, I tend to try and kill as many notifications as I can.
As part of the ongoing story, many laptops still use 1080p panels. But you simply can’t represent a full screen of email, a web browser, PowerPoint, and a chat app on a single 1080p screen. That’s why ALT+TAB and virtual desktops and notifications came into being: to alert users to some piece of information that they couldn’t see offscreen. In 2010 or so, a 1080p display was pretty cutting-edge for desktops.
As part of the ongoing story, they’re cheaper than ever and your home office should include more than one. Plus, with more physical screens, the need for notifications diminishes. Now multiple monitors aren’t just a possibility; they’re a reality.
As part of the ongoing story, imagine yourself driving down the street. Good drivers are taught to keep their eyes moving and to be aware of what’s around them, but mostly what you see is of no immediate consequence. Parked cars, someone walking their dog, a squirrel. Here’s the thing.
According to the latest update, something moving in from your peripheral vision triggers that “ALERT!” response, where we’re compelled to ensure that whatever it is isn’t a threat or a danger. That’s why Tom down the street doesn’t get to put lights and sirens on his Dodge Ram — those are reserved for true emergencies. A notification swings in like a child running out into the road.
As part of the ongoing story, one is dedicated entirely to peripheral information: my email, chat, and RSS feeds. Another is my “focus” screen, largely dominated by multiple tabs on a web browser, where I can move back and forth. A third screen is basically reserved for additional information — a PDF or presentation, perhaps, or my notes. I minimize notifications as much as possible, but these screens silently patch with fresh information. I maintain multiple displays with multiple apps on each one.
According to the latest update, when your mind drifts away from the task at hand, it will drift to the side, where email and chat are located. If you want, you can even “mute” that information by minimizing those windows. You will notice that information eventually.
In a fresh development, information that needs to find you will find you. It’ll usually arrive as a tap on the shoulder, a direct message, a high-priority email, or a phone call. Some might argue that notifications are necessary in fast-paced workplaces. Maybe that’s true. A 911 dispatcher doesn’t want to ignore their calls, after all. That brings me to my final point.
According to the latest update, focus matters. In most workplaces, though, outthinking your competitors is often a matter of strategy, not chasing every little distraction.
The report highlights that in reviewing recent advice in the productivity sphere, I came across some “research-backed tips,” including this one (without any research citation, incidentally): “Never attend or run meetings without clear agendas and desired outcomes.”.
According to the latest update, this part is important, too: “Effective meetings have specific start times, end times, and action items.”.
In a fresh development, that takes some guts! And a pretty secure position, probably. We could all agree that a productive meeting has clear, actionable goals, but actually turning down a meeting because its goals aren’t set in the agenda?
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The report highlights that he has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Highly adopted Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room. Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology.