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- You're losing an entire workday to notification ping-pong
You're losing an entire workday to notification ping-pong
Edition #12 • Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Hey,
Pop quiz: How many times did you check your phone this morning before you actually started creating?
Don't lie. I know you "just quickly" looked at Instagram, then YouTube comments, then that DM, then your analytics, then back to Instagram because someone replied...
Here's what just happened:
You didn't "quickly check" anything. You just burned 2 hours and didn't create a single thing.
THE MATHS NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Every time you context-switch (fancy term for bouncing between tasks), it takes 23 minutes to get back into deep focus.
That's not me being dramatic. That's University of California research.
So let's do the actual math on your morning:
Check Instagram (switch #1)
Jump to YouTube comments (switch #2)
Respond to DMs (switch #3)
Look at analytics because anxiety (switch #4)
Back to Instagram (switch #5)
5 switches × 23 minutes = 115 minutes of destroyed focus.
You just lost 2 hours. Before you even started working.
And tomorrow? You'll do it again.

Me avoiding notifications so I can actually create content…
HERE’S WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS
I'm not going to tell you to delete social media or "be more disciplined." That's useless advice.
You need systems, not superhuman willpower.
1. Two windows. That's it.
Check messages twice daily. Mid-morning and end of day. The rest of the time? Silence everything.
I promise the world will not end if you don't respond to a DM for 4 hours.
2. Block your best hours
You have 2-3 hours a day where your brain actually works. For most people, it's morning.
That time is for CREATING. Not commenting. Not DMing. Not checking if that reel is performing.
Creating.
3. Analytics get one day
Pick one day a week for analytics review. Tuesday, Friday, whatever.
That's when you look at numbers, make decisions, adjust strategy.
Every other day? The numbers can wait. They're not changing because you checked them 6 times.
4. Automate the shallow work
Auto-replies. Comment filters. Scheduling tools.
Not because you're lazy. Because decision fatigue is real and you only have so much brain power per day.
Use it for creating, not sorting.
THE REAL TALK
Creators who time-block their core work average 27% higher content output. Not because they're more talented. Because they protected their focus.
Those who turn off push notifications report 43% fewer context switches and measurably less stress.
Focus isn't a personality trait. It's a resource.
And right now? You're hemorrhaging it.
YOUR HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Tomorrow morning, before you check anything, create for 90 minutes. Just create.
Phone on airplane mode. No DMs. No comments. No analytics.
Then tell me what happened. Hit reply. I actually read these.
Amber
P.S. If you caught yourself checking your phone while reading this email... that's exactly the problem I'm talking about. We're fixing this.
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