Gang,
Stephen and I are planning a show around notifications. What are your challenges, tips, and strategies when it comes to those pesky notifications?
Challenges would be the needless ones, automations that persist on lock screen when not used but they were promted. Example I have a BT shortcut to raise volume to 100% in car. I donāt always run it, short trip etc but the notification remains until I remove it. When I click the āxā for chat all they still remain and need swiped.
Tip, following a suggestion I think from yourself, closed off all notifications and gradually bright bank in the ones I find beneficial, helped me up leave my phone in my pocket alot.
Edit - clarification of what I meant.
The challenge for me is which ones to leave on? I like to have as little distraction as possible and absolutely detest badges on app icons, but sometimes there are things I need to remember or do.
On all my iOS devices the only apps that are allowed to show notifications (not on the lock screen) are iMessage and Omnifocus. Nothing else.
On the mac itās similar, with two extra apps: Keyboard Maestro and Growl (Hardware growler)
1 Like
I constantly use non-system alt-notifications that are repeatable, noisy and persistent with Due, primarily on iOS but also synced to the Mac. Great for repeatable tasks I need to deal with at a specific time while knowing that I too often miss the soft, anemic notifications in a calendar or even Siriās reminders.
EDIT: And I have it watch-and-import anything in the Reminders list in Apple Reminders, so I can effectively use Siri with Due.
Only comment I have, beyond that most notifications really just arenāt needed, is that somehow an OS update of my watch turned notifications (and sound!) back /on/. Not set-and-forget, in my experience.
Is there a way to sync notification settings across computers?
I think Growl, Prowl and other notification utilities deserve a shoutout here!
Notifications are one of the key ways our devices can influence us. I use the above combo to pester me when I have disorganized items in my OmniFocus inbox. This helps me make sure my inbox is always tidy.
See also Pushcut, Pushbullet, and others.
A big challenge is getting only the right notifications from an app. Some have binary settings you canāt control beyond on/off; others like mail apps can be more complex. I think thereās some good potential discussion there.
Would also love to hear some discussion of how Face/Touch ID makes non-nagging notifications less useful. I think users are becoming increasingly blind to their lock screens. I often miss timely notifications from OF because I didnāt happen to see the one time it alerted me. When nagging notifications arenāt an option, what can we do to not miss one?
At least for me, itās because I pay the lock screen/Notification Center almost no attention since drawing the phone from a pocket and unlocking is one smooth motion. There is nothing drawing you to it once youāve unlocked your phone.
The Good Morning view also contributed to this. Thatās probably the single longest look at my lock screen each day and it just displays weather.
These are good changes, but they make it harder to notice one notification received while away from the phone.
1 Like
This is very true. I often realize hours later that i had a silent notification that I could/should have seen several times.
Thatās interesting. People must have different patterns for āopeningā their phone. I always tap, then swipe up to go to the home screen. After tapping, the phone just sits on the lock screen. I review and act on/clear notifications then.
But if you have raise to wake active, you can easily skip the notifications by swiping first, as you describe.
Yes, I could change my lock screen habits and I have looked more carefully or pulled down the notifications center when I remembered to.
What I found interesting was that I did not realize the phone feature and UI change had occurred to now require deliberately checking notifications like that; it just happened as a consequence of a new phone and a new OS at some point and my old habits started failing me. I just started missing notifications I expected to see and being confused by it until I identified the issue.
That unintentional behavior change, how a power user can respond to it, and how apps could deal with it seems worth discussing, is all.
1 Like
I have Tap To Wake turned on in Accessibility, so Iāve gotten used to tapping and looking at my screen before swiping up; I always see all my notifications that way (and it saves a bit of battery too).
1 Like
I think it depends why youāre unlocking your phone. If you want to do something quickly, itās easy to āloseā your place in notifications.
How many times have you opened your phone to be distracted by a notification, then forgetting why you opened it in the first place. Happens to me all of the time.
1 Like
I think thatās easy to say for those who have that mindset, those of us who are (letās say) a little more scatterbrained or Squirrel easily distracted want to do what we need to do at that exact second without distraction.
I often forget to go back to notifications once theyāve disappeared from the Lock Screen.
This may not be helpful in terms of discussion on current habits, but this is a future hope for a feature either in the system or at least in shortcuts. I would like ādo not disturbā to give you the option of also removing red bubbles when turned on. For example, if i have 5 emails waiting, but im in do not disturb mode (or maybe this would be better triggered with a more specific shortcut), then i dont see the bubbles. When do not disturb comes off, then they reappear.
I find that i turn off almost all bubbles excpet on things i very much need, like daily tasks and messages. It changed my anxiety levels when i turned off all notifications for email and decided that i would get to choose when i open and look at email. Im not yet there with messages though.
1 Like
Thatās a really neat idea. Iād use it.
1 Like