This is something my parents have been telling me for years but until now, I did not agree with them. After reducing the notifications I get on my phone and realizing what a relief it has been, I’m considering turning off notifications for all texts and instant messages.

My logic for it is, if someone needs my immediate attention, they should just call me. Yes, they will lose some convenience of just being able to type out a quick message and send it and instead have to call and wait for me to answer, but I think it should take some effort to interrupt what I’m doing. If they are unwilling to call me, the situation is really not urgent so they can wait until I actively choose to pull out my phone and check my texts.