You absolutely must determine a strategy for taming the notifications on your phone.
This isn't optional advice. This is basic equipment for managing distractibility. Every notification is a potential attention hijack. Every buzz, ping, and banner is a door that something can walk through to interrupt your focus.
Both Android and iOS have robust systems for controlling notifications. Use them.
Start by auditing every app that has notification permissions. For each one, ask: does this app genuinely need the ability to interrupt my thoughts at any moment?
For most apps, the answer is no.
Marketing notifications? Off. Social media? Off, or heavily restricted. Email? Maybe batched to certain times, or limited to specific important senders. News apps? Almost certainly off.
What deserves real-time notification access? Probably: calls and texts from actual humans you know, calendar reminders, and maybe one or two genuinely time-sensitive apps depending on your life.
Everything else can wait until you choose to check it.
Some specific tactics:
Use Focus modes / Do Not Disturb with scheduled activation during your key work hours.
Disable badge counts (the red numbers on app icons). They create constant low-level anxiety and temptation.
Move distracting apps off your home screen or into folders that require extra taps to access.
Consider grayscale mode during focus times—color is more stimulating and harder to resist.
Your phone is designed by teams of engineers whose job is to capture your attention. They're very good at it. You need to fight back deliberately.
Protecting your attention is protecting your ability to do meaningful work and be present with the people you care about. It's worth the setup time.