How To Turn Off Distracting Tech Notifications Almost Anywhere

These days, we are constantly barraged with the system alerts, annoying texts and email updates from hypothetical neighbors and telemarketing teams. But for some good reason, the tech lovers tend to play victims by saying that they need to turn on their notifications whether it is for their PC, iPhone, Mac, or Android mobile.

They feel the need of staying connected by getting the notifications at all times so they can be available for their work. But not everyone likes staying connecting to the tech side of their world. If you are one of those who think that getting the notifications are distracting and irritating at times, you can now turn it off almost anywhere for your convenience.

Take Back Control

Basically, notifications were created for reminding the users to check their messages, software updates etc. To some extent, notifications are really helpful and useful but there has to be a limit for it. If you are using your cell phone and you get an automatic fancy bubble of notification, you cannot ignore it for a long time.

At some point you will decide to check all the notifications so that the message bubble can go away. When it comes down to it, it is time to decide what notification is the most important.

99Notices

Once you get an email notification, then you feel the responsibility of replying to them as well. If you for instance, do not reply at the moment, you will feel the burden of replying on your shoulders.

As a matter of fact, a study conducted by the Loughborough University shows that it nearly takes an entire minute to recover from any email. Just think about the number of emails you get in a single day and then how long does it take to reply to all of them.

All this adds up to the anxiety of giving response to every email so it is time to stop the notifications and break free from the liability of checking every notification every minute. The easiest route is to turn off all the notifications or you can try a few things to stop the unwanted pop-ups all the time:

Turning Off the Desktop Email Notifications

You can follow a few simple steps to turn off the email interruptions in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail:

Gmail

  • Select ‘Gear Icon’
  • Go to ‘Settings’
  • Check the ‘Mail Notifications Off’ from ‘Desktop Notifications’ section

Outlook

  • Click ‘Options’ from the ‘Tools’ menu
  • Go to ‘Email Options’
  • Open ‘ Advanced Email Options’
  • Uncheck the box of ‘Display New Mail Desktop Alert’ under the ‘When New Items Arrive In My Inbox’

Apple Mail

  • Click ‘System Preferences’
  • Go to ‘Notifications’
  • Click ‘Mail’ and turn off the alerts, banners or sounds.

Turning Off the System Notifications

System notifications sometimes can become a hassle. You can turn them off but always remember to check for the important updates. Following are some ways to turn off the system notifications:

Windows 7 Notification

  • The ‘Taskbar Notifications’ are handled by clicking up-arrow on left side of ‘System Tray’ icons, then choose ‘Customize’ and select the notifications or icons you wish to see on your taskbar
  • Security Messages can be turned off by going to ‘Control Panel’
  • Then click ‘System and Security’
  • Open ‘Action Center’
  • Select the ‘Change Action Center Settings’

Apple OSX Mountain Lion

  • You can access everything by opening ‘Notifications’ in the ‘System Preferences’
  • For handling the automatic updates for your apps and OSX go to ‘System Preferences’
  • Then click ‘Software Update’

Windows 8 Notifications

  • Press ‘Windows+C’ to access ‘Charms Bar’
  • Then go to ‘Settings’
  • Click ‘Notifications’ for shutting everything down
  • More specific options can be checked by going to ‘More PC Settings’
  • Then ‘Notifications’

Turning Off the Mobile Notifications

The application notification settings in the smartphones are standard for every phone. By following a few steps, you can change the settings of your mail or messages.

Android Jelly Bean 4.1

  • If any notification pops up, press it for long and the ‘App Info’ would come on the screen
  • You will be taken to an app management screen when you tap it from where you can uncheck ‘Show Notifications’ box

iPhone iOS6

  • It does not matter what app you are using, you just need to go to ‘Settings’
  • Then open ‘Notifications’ and resolve the notification woes.
  • It even includes ‘iMessage’

Old Versions Of Android

  • The apps vary in the android phones but opening ‘Settings’ from the ‘Menu’ tab can help in changing the notifications setting.

Setting up a Schedule

Turning off all the notifications is easy but it is important to take responsibility of checking in the updates and messages manually. Scheduling 5 minutes in 1 working hour is a good way for handling yourself.

It is not like getting notifications is a bad thing but never let the notifications control every moment in your life. Instead, you should learn to control your time by turning off the unnecessary notifications.

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