How to deal with the avalanche of notifications on your smartphone and beyond

Smartphones stay with us from morning till night. We wake up reaching for the phone and end the day scrolling through notifications before sleep. Although mobile devices are extremely helpful – they replace a camera, calendar, map and wallet – they also bombard us with a constant stream of messages. Every day we are hit by dozens, sometimes hundreds of alerts from messengers, online stores, social media, banking or transport apps. This notification avalanche means not only distraction, but also fatigue and stress that are harder and harder to ignore.

How does it all work?

It is no coincidence that we find it so hard to put the phone, watch or laptop down. Notifications are designed to grab our attention. They work like tiny rewards – every sound or icon triggers a burst of dopamine, giving us a short moment of satisfaction. The mechanism is similar to gambling: we never know what’s behind a notification – an important message or just another ad – and this uncertainty makes us check our devices again and again. There is also FOMO, the fear of missing out. We worry that if we do not react, we will miss an opportunity or an important event. As a result, notifications start shaping our behaviour, often without us even realising it.

The impact of notification overload

Too many alerts affect both our private and professional life. Every interruption at work requires time to regain focus – psychologists estimate that it can take up to 15 minutes to return to full concentration. Constant distraction leads to cognitive fatigue, which shows up as irritability, impatience and lower productivity. Notifications raise stress levels, disrupt sleep and make it harder to truly rest. Our relationships suffer as well – conversations become less meaningful when they are constantly interrupted by sounds and vibrations from devices.

What’s more, the notification avalanche is not limited to smartphones. Alerts follow us to smartwatches that buzz with every email or message, to laptops reminding us about meetings, and even to smart TVs that push messages about app updates. Smart home systems send alerts about open doors, temperature changes or low stocks in the fridge. In practice we are surrounded by screens and signals almost non-stop. If we do not learn how to manage them, it is very easy to slide into a constant feeling of overload.

First steps to declutter your notifications

The starting point is to review all the apps and devices that generate notifications every day. On your smartphone it is worth beginning by removing unnecessary apps – those you rarely use but that still demand attention with promos or reminders. For the remaining ones, go through the settings and apply filters. Notifications from social media or shopping apps can be turned off completely or limited to silent mode so they do not make sounds or wake the screen. Ideally, you leave only truly essential alerts – related to work, close contacts, health or security. It is also helpful to mute group chats that can generate dozens or even hundreds of messages with little real value, especially during working hours or at night.

On the computer, which also floods us with pop-ups, it is worth disabling unnecessary system alerts such as casual update prompts and limiting notifications from apps running in the background. Setting a work schedule is a good idea too – systems like Windows and macOS offer focus modes that block everything except selected exceptions. On a smartwatch you can go even further and configure the device to pass through only the most important information, like phone calls, SMS and health reminders, rather than every tiny social media ping. TVs and smart home equipment have their own notification settings as well – some inform when a recording has finished, others about updates or an open front door. It is worth deciding which alerts are genuinely useful and which can be switched off entirely so they do not break your daily rhythm. Thanks to this, all devices around you will support your organisation instead of creating extra informational noise.

Technical tools to keep your devices in check

Modern devices increasingly come with features designed for digital wellbeing. “Do not disturb” mode is the basic one – it mutes alerts except for chosen exceptions. Focus modes let you create profiles for work, study or rest. Notification grouping reduces chaos by combining multiple alerts into a single summary. On desktops and laptops, systems like Windows and macOS also include their own focus tools that block distracting pop-ups. Even TVs offer options to limit alerts, and smartwatches allow you to choose which notifications are forwarded from your phone.

Practical solutions from Xiaomi

In the MIUI system, Xiaomi lets you control exactly how each notification appears: it can show up on the lock screen, in the status bar or as a floating banner. There are also quiet-hour schedules – automatic silencing of alerts during set times, for example at night. Usage statistics are especially useful; they show how many times a day you unlock your phone and how many notifications you received. This is a simple way to see the scale of the problem.

Other brands offer similar tools. Apple has advanced focus modes in iOS and macOS, Samsung provides activity reports in One UI, and Huawei or Oppo include features for monitoring device usage. It clearly shows that digital balance is becoming a priority for the entire industry.

Building healthy habits

Technology is only one side of the coin – our daily habits are just as important. A good starting point is to set offline hours, for example the first hour after waking up and the last one before sleep. A digital detox in the form of a day or weekend without devices helps you regain calm and energy. It is also worth practising mindfulness: instead of automatically reaching for your phone or watch, ask yourself whether you really need it at that moment.

The five most common mistakes

1. Leaving all notifications enabled by default.

2. Installing too many apps that do almost the same thing.

3. Not setting quiet hours, especially at night.

4. Reacting automatically to every sound or vibration.

5. Using devices right before going to sleep.

Fewer notifications, more peace of mind

Take Anna, an office worker who was receiving around 250 notifications a day across her phone, watch and computer. After a few simple changes – muting group chats, turning on “Do not disturb” and reducing system alerts – the number of messages dropped to 90 a day. She gained an extra hour of free time, her sleep improved and her stress levels fell. This shows that taking control of notifications is absolutely possible and brings tangible benefits.

A step-by-step plan – one week to better balance

• Day 1: review your apps and uninstall the unnecessary ones.

• Day 2: set notification priorities on your smartphone.

• Day 3: configure night-time “Do not disturb”.

• Day 4: reduce alerts on your smartwatch.

• Day 5: mute group chats.

• Day 6: introduce at least one offline hour a day.

• Day 7: review the results and fine-tune your settings.

Summary – digital balance across all your devices

Notifications now follow us not only on smartphones, but also on smartwatches, computers, tablets, TVs and smart home systems. They can be extremely useful – they remind us about meetings, inform us about messages from loved ones, warn about technical issues or help track our health. But in excess they become a source of constant fatigue, stress and informational chaos. Instead of helping, they distract and sometimes even make it impossible to relax. Every alert demands a moment of attention, and the sum of these moments leads to lost focus and growing frustration.

With the right tools and a conscious approach, however, you can regain control over technology. It pays to use focus modes, quiet-hour schedules and careful selection of notifications that are truly necessary. Setting clear priorities helps – alerts related to work, health or safety can stay on, while the rest should be limited or turned off completely. Even more important is building healthy habits: consistently disconnecting from devices at certain times, practising mindfulness and planning regular offline time.

Then technology becomes an ally again rather than an obstacle. Your smartphone can stay a tool for organising the day, your smartwatch – a partner in caring for your health, your computer – the centre of work and learning, and your TV – a source of entertainment. The key is that you decide when and what kind of information reaches you. Only then do notifications play their proper role: they inform instead of overwhelming, and support you instead of taking control of your life.