Former Google CEO Tells Workers: Turn Off Your Phone To Focus (businessinsider.com) 38
Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, has a simple suggestion for young workers struggling to focus at work or relax: turn off your phone. Schmidt told the "Moonshots" podcast that researchers "can't think deeply" when their phones keep buzzing with notifications.
The tech veteran, who spent 10 years running Google and helped build Android's notification system, admitted the industry has worked to "monetize your attention" through constant ads and alerts.
The tech veteran, who spent 10 years running Google and helped build Android's notification system, admitted the industry has worked to "monetize your attention" through constant ads and alerts.
I turned off notifications long ago (Score:5, Insightful)
So much more mentally healthy.
These noises exist to get your attention so companies can make more money.
My phone rarely buzzes or anything. It's been amazing. I turned off noises like 5 years ago. I remember looking at my phone every time it buzzed every 5 minutes.
I've learned to ignore texts. I might not respond for hours. I don't care. If you are dieing, that deserves a phone call. If I am at work for 4 more hours, no I don't need oto hurry to tell you shit.
You know what else. When you tell your friends you'll be somewhere at a given time, get your ass there!
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I have it configured so that only a few close friends can get a significant noise. Other stuff is either blocked or can only trigger a very weak sound that I am quite unlikely to notice.
I'm sure there's a joke lurking in here about where my wife fits in... Or some kind of learned tolerance joke?
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I have mine mostly turned off/opted-out, too. Particularly on my phone, the only notifications that are audible are text messages, which for me are typically from actual people, or important alerts, such as when my bank completes a significant transfer of funds (such as to my landlord). Everything else is muted.
Here's the thing, though: A lot of people don't want to spend the time to prune their notifications. With so many apps and websites defaulting to sending you notifications, it becomes yet another ver
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I made my notification a little "click" sound. I can choose to ignore it if I wish and most of the time if I'm busy, I don't even hear it.
People know that I may not immediately respond to emails and texts. If they *really* need me, they can call me.
This is the only "social media" I do. I ditched reddit over a year ago.
Notifications from who Eric? (Score:1)
Who's blowing these peoples phones up at work Eric?!
Let me be the first to say it.... (Score:1)
OK, boomer.
Or how about this novel solution? (Score:4, Interesting)
When you are focusing on something, ignore your fucking phone.
Use do-not-disturb mode. Make sure anyone that you would like to not be shunted to voicemail or otherwise ignored is a "favorite" or "VIP" in your phone so their calls and messages still get through for important stuff.
Don't be a slave to your damn phone - it's a tool for your use, and anyone that is spamming you with useless shit should be ignored, and if they continue to spam you with unwanted shit, turn their notifications off.
This really isn't hard, and is no different than any other notification or distraction that has happened to anyone in the last 30 years.
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Cheeto eating basement dwellers get "social anxiety" should they actually have to converse with a human. Gotta love it.
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But the applied psychologists are extremely good at making us want those little dopamine rushes all the time...
Relevant books? The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher, The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton, and A World Without Email by Cal Newport. Oh, and what the heck. How about The Hacker and the State by Ben Buchanan? Tangential, but intrusive... But none of them said enough bad things about TikTok. (And on Slashdot no one can hear a book scream?)
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... A World Without Email by Cal Newport...
I have a saying - "I collect email, but I never let email collect me". Whether it's on my phone or on my laptop, even looking at my email client doesn't reveal new messages. I have to actually click on a button.
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It actually is that hard, sometimes.
Often, jobs have a culture which have become structured so that you must be responsive, if not 24/7, then at the least during your work hours, to IMs. Step away from your desk for 30m to eat lunch or whatever? People are going to start calling you in many of these (IMO toxic) environments.
And frankly, it's required for some jobs (like in support roles). You've got to be available and IM is used for coordinating on the ground.
I've told people I am simply not available on I
Google workers tell former Google CEO (Score:2)
Does your work require more focus than driving? (Score:3)
If not, it's hardly work.
In your eye with a Gemini! (Score:3)
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Is that the one that replaced the button used to rapidly access emergency services with a popup that tells you how great it is?
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You can reconfigure that button the way it was.
Last Friday I was looking at rebooting my phone, pressing the normal button brought up this helpful message telling me how to use Google Gemini. A couple of minutes later I had the normal button back to doing the normal things when I pressed it, still a total PITA when it happened.
recluse (Score:2)
Does he have nothing better to do (Score:2)
Why is Eric Schmidt out there life-coaching young workers? Shouldn't he be busy investing in the next big thing that will destroy the world as we know it?
Y'all do need to put your damn phones away though. I saw a kid nearly crash his bike in traffic because I guess he was getting notifications and he couldn't wait until the bike stopped to dig the phone out of his pocket.
People allow notifications? (Score:5, Insightful)
If something asks for the ability to make noise or show a popup, my default response is "no."
If my phone beeps, my default course of action is to mute whatever just beeped.
There are very few exceptions to those rules.
I can't imagine getting through life any other way.
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People who send me too many Signal or WhatsApp (sorry, I need that one) messages get muted, either for a week or permanently.
Apps which alert me to things I don't care about, they are no longer permitted to send me notifications.
Spam cold callers who don't show their numbers? I no longer take calls from anonymous callers.
Older versions of Android used to cause a light to flash on notifications, my new phone no longer does that and that means hours of battery life just through that simple fix.
Use focuses (Score:2)
iOS offers the concept of "focuses" - I believe Android has something similar. You can define what apps and which people can (or can't) bother you during given times of the day / days of the week. You can have them fire automatically based on day and time, or manually. You can define as many as you like.
I've got focuses set up for work, home, and the standard 'do not disturb'. I've also got one I defined - 'REALLY Do Not Disturb' - which blocks almost everyone except my immediate family, as well as most app
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> Teams is blocked
Words to live by.
Kettle calling tea (Score:2)
Mr Schmidt's opinion is limited by the fact the defaults for the OS on that phone is something that is in at the least 1/3 of the cases something he could influence. Mr Schmidt could implement policy that the phone can't serially beep, and that would literally be the end of the tale.
Instead he is sitting there like a idiot, complaining about things he let come to pass.
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Looks like he's no longer part of the problem.
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He still owns enough shares to have some influence, surely?
Phone (Score:2)
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It sure is a good thing that your phone is very configurable for who and what can send you notifications, at any given range of time during the day isn't it?
Now you can get your 2FA token / codes, and still not get spammed by useless shit all day long. And this has been available for years, as "do not disturb" mode.
Re: Phone (Score:2)
The phone is not the worst distraction (Score:2)
Please let us concentrate on a single media like mail.
Position of privlege (Score:2)
Nobody is going to get on his ass if he's not answering calls or have 30 minute clarity on his inbox. "Oh, I'm in the Maldives on holiday, low reception you know. You guys should really try focusing more"
Not just your phone. (Score:2)
This rule should apply to all sorts of communication platforms, including Teams at work.
Somehow, it's become acceptable for our workplaces to expect us to be productive while requiring us to instantly respond to all messages and ad-hoc, unannounced calls. Somehow, being present on Teams is supposed to mean you're working.
The opposite is true. The more I ignore Teams and emails, the more shit I get done.
Listening to that cretin is a bad idea (Score:2)
Although he is right on this one thing.