For almost a year now I’ve left my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ all day. I only ever change it when I’m expecting a call. Other than that it stays muted. I have gone into my settings and set up ‘Allow Notifications’ so that, “Notifications from selected people will be allowed, all others will be silenced.”

This is a game changer for me. My phone is not the distraction it used to be. At home, I still get family notifications. At work my family, bosses, secretaries, and teachers can still get messages through. But everyone else has to wait until I look at my phone. My attention is no longer dictated by other people’s schedules and expectations to communicate with me. I don’t get distracted by spam calls and texts. I check my messages at my convenience not someone else’s.

It’s amazing how this little choice has made me more efficient and less distracted.