Time seems to fly away nowadays.
We are constantly running from one task to another. Whether it’s responding to text messages, emails, or questions, it just doesn’t seem to stop. On top of that, we have personal obligations and expectations in our private lives. Not only does all of this feel extremely overwhelming, but time for ourselves has become a luxury we haven’t truly known since childhood.
With all this new technology and the ever-growing number of options we face, feeling overwhelmed seems to have become our default mode. But the question we need to ask ourselves is: does it have to be this way?
How to Block Out the Noise
A lot of incoming tasks, requests, and questions feel obligatory. But are they really? How much time do we spend each day taking useless actions or consuming irrelevant information?
Much of these tasks and messages are actually noise. They are not relevant to us as individuals, our jobs or our personal goals. So why do we spend so much time on them? It’s because we don’t initiate these actions ourselves; they’re forced on us by external stimuli. Notifications are one of the most common culprits. They pop up randomly, triggering our curiosity and compelling us to check them. One notification often leads to another, turning a simple text message into 15 minutes of mindless scrolling on social media.
Although these apps are highly addictive, we can break their spell by tackling the problem at its root: disabling notifications.
“But what if I miss something important?”
Removing notifications doesn’t mean cutting off information entirely—it means deciding when to engage with it. By turning off notifications, we regain control over our attention. Instead of being constantly interrupted, we can choose specific times to check messages or updates.
Creating a Hierarchy of Urgency
Not everything can be blocked or ignored. Life happens, emergencies arise, and sometimes people really do need to reach you immediately.
Instead of allowing everyone to disturb you at random, you can create clear boundaries by creating a hierarchy of urgency for all your communication channels. You do this by making it very easy to reach via important channels and very difficult for less import channels.
| Check frequency | Respond frequency | Channel | Notifications |
| 24/7 | Immediately | Cell phone | Sound + vibration + watch |
| 3x/day | Within hours | Chat | Silent/ invisible |
| 1x/day | Within days | Silent/ invisible | |
| once every 2 days | Within week | Silent/ invisible |
Urgency depends on context: some requests require an immediate response, while others can wait until tomorrow or next week. Communicate this system to the people in your life. For instance, let your colleagues know you check emails only once a day. If something urgent comes up, they can call you.
At first, I faced resistance, especially in my private life, but over time, people adjusted and now know how to reach me when it’s truly necessary.
Limit Task Switching: Work Smarter, Not Harder
Many of us think we’re good at multitasking, but research shows our brains can’t truly multitask. Instead, we rapidly switch between tasks, leaving behind “residue” from the previous task in our working memory. Even simple tasks can pile up, causing mental overload and slowing us down. It’s like running a computer with 46 tabs open—it becomes sluggish and inefficient.
What’s worse, every time we switch tasks, it takes up to 23 minutes to regain full focus. This constant switching also forces our brains to alternate between two modes of thinking: divergent thinking (broad, creative problem-solving) and convergent thinking (focused, analytical work). Switching between these modes further drains our mental resources.
A great benefit of not responding to information immediately is that everything collects in an inbox. This can be an email inbox, a to-do list, or even your phone’s photo gallery. The concept is simple: let all incoming data—questions, tasks, requests, or random thoughts—accumulate in a single location.
Later, during dedicated times, process everything in one go for a single type of task. For example, check and respond to your e-mails once a day. You will not only finish your tasks much faster this way, but you will also have a more calm state of mind.
Create Clarity within Yourself
External clarity is crucial, but internal clarity is equally important. Our subconsciousness is constantly processing information in the background. Unprocessed thoughts often lead to late-night worries when we’re trying to fall asleep.
Offload these thoughts by writing them down. Create lists to capture tasks or ideas, and clear physical clutter from your environment. Objects around you can distract your subconscious. For instance, a magazine on your desk might tempt you to procrastinate while working.
Keep your workspace clean—both physically and digitally. Use methods like “inbox zero” to keep your email inbox empty after processing messages. This creates a sense of calm and control.
Lastly, reduce the number of decisions you make each day. Too many decisions lead to “decision fatigue,” making it harder to focus. Limit your daily to-do list to 3–5 items. This forces you to prioritize what truly matters.
Focus on What is Important for You
All these tips are meaningless if they don’t help you focus on what truly matters. Reflect on your life regularly. Ask yourself:
- What is the single most important thing I need to do today?
- What drained my energy today?
- What gave me energy?
Make a daily habit of writing your thoughts on paper. This simple act of self-reflection can reveal patterns about what’s important to you. Over time, you’ll gain clarity and be able to focus on activities that align with your goals and values.
In summary
- Block out noise by disabling most notifications and creating a hierarchy of urgency.
- Create a limited to-do list each morning with 3–5 priority tasks.
- Stop task switching; batch similar tasks and process them in one go.
- Keep your physical and digital environments distraction-free.
- Reflect daily to identify what is important uniquely for you.
- Double down on things that are important and remove what is not.
Rinse and repeat.