“Someone has sent you a message”, “Download is complete”, “Clara is typing…”, “Connection to FTP has failed”. Those messages are known as notifications. They are always there, whole time, notifying what is happening with your Mac if you have Growl installed.
Most applications, by default, enable the notification. And by having all the notifications together, we end up with a pile of useless notifications.
Problem is, it’s difficult — if not troublesome — to sort out notifications and filter out the notifications that matter. Most people don’t feel like to manually select the notifications they want to receive. (Some people don’t even know which notifications matter to them.)
Thus, it leads me to question the importance of notification app on desktop.
To say that notification app play a big role in your computing experience is not entirely wrong. But, if we take a close look on how most people make use of notification, notification distracts instead of helping. A split second of notification can remove the focus you’ve been building over time. If notification can hinder focus, why should we have them on desktop where we’re supposed to create and work?
Put it blatantly, you don’t need to worry missing notifications. If the messages are important, you’ll remember them. You’ll take an extra step to ensure everything is working perfectly.
Without notification system, less hindrance, less distraction.
I personally no longer have Growl installed. The choice to remove Growl has helped me to build a better focus. While writing this, I have no need to bother whether the background download is complete or not.
If you’re used to take a glimpse of notification. Perhaps it’s time to try “denotification” for your Mac.
