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No-Stress Notifications

notifications

Some days, technology feels like an added stress. If clearing out notifications is a trigger for you, check out these tips to manage that sense of urgency.

Turn off notifications

The best way to stay on task is to turn off notifications. If you have a schedule and stick to it, you don’t need to know every time a new email comes in or someone likes your photo.

If sticking to a schedule seems daunting at first, limit yourself to checking email and social media to every 15 minutes. Once that becomes easy, move it back to every 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and eventually to every hour.

Another healthy habit to get into is keeping devices away from your bed. Many of us are spending more time at home, and healthy boundaries are more important to keep than ever. Bedrooms are for sleeping, living rooms are for living, and the office is for working. Sticking to these rules and your life will improve in more ways than one.

Declutter

Sometimes apps that take us away from the task at hand. Clean out your apps periodically. Delete apps you don’t use anymore, but also consider deleting apps that are available online (Facebook, Pinterest, etc).

One great way to limit how often you pick up your phone is to invest in a smart speaker. This way you can set a timer, listen to podcast, or stream music without getting pulled into a phone blackhole.

Inspiration for this post came from “Digital Decluttering” by Beth Montpas published in the October 2020 issue of American Quilt Retailer.


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Declutter Your Digital Space

Declutter

It’s easy to remember to declutter your home when it’s a daily reminder, and easier to ignore one of the tools you use everyday—your computer.

Plan some time this Friday afternoon to clean up your digital space, within one day you’ll notice how less stressful your life feels.

Tips to declutter

  • Unsubscribe from emails you never read. Even notifications can be distracting and contribute to the everyday stress you feel. When you check your email you won’t even notice those subscriptions are gone.
  • Clean your desktop. That’s right, you should actually be able to see the background image on your desktop. It may have been years since you’ve been able to do this, but an organized desktop is the best time saver you can do for yourself.
  • Turn off notifications. If it really is important enough to check, you will.
  • Upgrade your systems. That’s right, the next time a reminder to upgrade pops up on your computer, don’t press ignore. Upgrading makes sure your computer has the best and safest software.
  • Download screen time monitoring apps. The nice things about these apps is they allow you to specify how much time you spend on what sorts of things, ie social media, learning, work, etc. We all know blue light isn’t good for our eyes so try to make the most of the time spent looking at it productive.

Increase digital space

  • Uninstall software. The easiest way to figure out how to do this is to Google it, this trick is more preventative as it will free space down the road.
  • Delete your downloads. Continuing on with the preventative tips, delete your download folder. This will save open up even more space and may also speed up your system.

Decluttering your digital space will make you feel more organized than you realize. Nothing is better than knowing exactly where something is, and these tips will help you get there.


Have you heard the news? American Quilt Retailer is hosting the opening session at spring Quilt Market in Kansas City! Their Schoolhouse Series includes breakout sessions and an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from the people who make, design, or write about the products you sell. Register to attend today.