I was out for lunch with my wife and during the course of our meal I lost track of the number of times we heard the chirp or chime of a notification on a phone.
No, there’s wasn’t anyone trying to get a hold of us, nor was either of our phones letting us know of some important event. It was the phones of several other parties in the restaurant.
There are many reasons for having the notifications on your phone set to go off and while I could go on for a while preaching about it I will just say this.
Switch them off.
Even it if just for the short span of an hour so you can enjoy the company of the person you’re with. There are very few things in life that demand the urgency we so often put on the latest facebook post, tweet, or celebrity gossip. So why not just switch off those notifications and be present with what’s going on in front of you.
The notifications will still be there when you finish your lunch, movie, or watching the sunset – go ahead, enjoy the moment.