on notifications

the flicker tap-drilling on my loft antennae has become a welcome sound.  having learned his parents' mating calls and those before them, i watch their family grow until a new one comes to tap once again, signaling a new spring.

the simplicity of this is refreshing to me in a world of notification distraction.  

i am not exaggerating to say that the simple task of:

answering a phone call to speak with someone 

has become this series of notifcations:

the phone ring itself

google voice notification to multiple emails (pop)

coworker email asking you to check interoffice instant messaging (swoosh) 

instant messaging is letting you know they sent an email to make sure you got the phone call (ding)

coworker walking over (while you are on the phone with the call that rang)

asking if you got the phone call

you patiently and wordlessly mouth that you are on the phone call right now

once the call is completed, you are asked to put additional notifications on your computer

i can't help but wonder about not only the irony of being interrupted for the sake of the task you are already doing, but what chop suey this is making of the focus and delayed gratification centers of my brain, so i decided on the radical move of doing one thing at a time. a morning alarm is ok, but how much better to wake with the sun?  

how many clicks, hums, coos, and whirls was i missing in the natural world and what did they signify? instead of 7 or more distractions per each simple human act, i wanted to focus on one natural sound at a time and pay attention to nature's notifications. 

when did the pollen turn into a petal?  what temperature and smell denoted the change in seasons?  when did wood become ash in a bonfire?  could i tell which bird was flying over by the sound of their wing beats?  

yes, it was time to reboot my own system notifications to include the waxing moon, tidal pulls, halibut season, and the order of flower blooms.  these are things i don't want to miss.  

not to take away any income from the creators of apps that help us to mute our technological cacaphony, but i'm sticking with the flicker.  he's all the notification i want.