“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
— Alexander Graham Bell

Modern smartphones are amazing pieces of innovation and technology. However, as with so many technological advancements, they’re a two-edged sword. On the one hand, we’re carrying a device around in our pockets that a few years ago was nearly impossible to imagine. On the other hand, our smartphones are great at distracting us from the important things we need to focus on.

Think about it. We’re interrupted whenever we get an email or a text, whenever an alarm or timer goes off, and for calendar events. Then there’s also all of our apps. Twitter, Slack, LinkedIn, YouTube, and many others provide lots of alerts, to say nothing about stock trading apps, news apps, and more.

It’s not bad to know what’s going on, and some alerts can be useful. Of course, you can and should turn off any notifications that aren’t helpful. Every time we lose focus, we’re less efficient and less effective.

There’s a simple solution to this chaos. Turn on do not disturb. Maybe not always, but sometimes. Consider scheduling do not disturb for some regular time without interruptions. Then put your smartphone aside and do something meaningful.