One morning at work, I was just about to start something important. I had my coffee ready, a bit of focus in my head… and then—ping! Teams message. Buzz! WhatsApp group. Ding! Outlook reminder. Another email coming. A missed call blinking on my phone screen. I stared at the screen for a second and thought, how did I get here? I didn’t even open the first message, and I am tired already.
Later that day, back from the work at home, I took my notebook. I like writing sometimes, when I feel like my brain is full or distracted. No big plan, just simple words. I wrote something without really thinking:
“Notifications are like traffic in the street.”
I paused. Hmm... What does that even mean? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.
At work, I use too many tools all at once. WhatsApp, Teams, Outlook, phone calls, CRM, some calendar app, and also sometimes people come directly to my desk. Everything is buzzing or blinking. Even my smartwatch wants attention now.
And I must say that this is a whole new world for me since my previous jobs were not even near to this chaotic style (I really find it chaotic). My background is technical and this new page in my career includes more administrative tasks. Oh my friends, honestly, I am really struggling and trying to build a new mindset. These days shall pass…
It’s like there’s no place to hide. I’m trying to focus on my desk, but I end up being interrupted every time. And if I don’t answer fast enough, I start feeling guilty.
“Why I’m not replying?”
“Are they waiting for me?”
“Maybe they think I’m lazy now…”
I think they call this situation as “imposter syndrome”.
Or constantly thinking of “What might be the next task?”, "Is there anything on the way which I am not aware of yet?" and checking my notes every half an hour… Not being really sure what am I doing in the whole work flow 🙂
These thoughts are always in the background, making small noises in my head. I become like a machine — always checking, always reacting, always switching between tabs, windows, apps, notebook. It feels like I’m working for the notifications, not for the real task.
So, yeah, here is my new mindset: It’s a traffic.
The street is noisy. Cars, horns, motorbikes, people shouting, lights blinking. I can’t control it. I can’t stop it. But I still go outside. I still cross the road, walk to the store, visit a friend, get back to home. Because I learned how to live with it. I don’t panic when I hear a horn — I just stay aware and move forward.
Same with digital life. Notifications are not evil, but they are too many, and they come from everywhere. I realized I can’t stop them completely, especially in work life. But maybe, just like traffic, I can learn to walk through them in my own way.
Now I try to change some small things.
First, I stopped answering immediately unless it’s really urgent. I check emails maybe 2–3 times in the day, same with many chat groups. Have a look at my calendar during my morning routine. I assume everybody has a different approach but the point I want to highlight is that the analogy of street traffic. It helps me.
Second, I stopped feeling guilty if I’m not fast. I remind myself: I’m a human, a unique human. I live with my own pace, I need time to think, time to work, time to process. Just because I saw a message doesn’t mean I must reply right now. I remember a note from my previous colleagues door, may not be exact but similar, he posted: “your failure on acting in a timely manner doesn’t mean urgency on my side.”
And the most important thing — I don’t let these tools control my self-worth. I’m not only fast replies and green dots. I’m not a notification slave.
In addition, when thinking about all the disruptions caused inside my mind by the stimuli of notifications, I think I have some feeling for dear autistic people. As you know they are also very sensitive to environmental senses and overloaded by the daily life’s physics. I feel sympathy for the mental pain they embrace.
Of course, I still fail sometimes. Some days I fall into the same trap. I check messages every five minutes. I get nervous from a simple red dot. But I catch myself. I say, “It’s just traffic.” And I continue walking.
I imagine myself on a noisy street, crossing carefully, hearing all the cars — but not stopping in fear. Just moving at my own rhythm. My eyes are open, and my heart is calm.
Dear modern world, keep me notified, but I am walking now and I will check later.
Among traffic — with balance.
All the best…
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