Notification on our phones can be very annoying nowadays. Every app wants our attention, so we’re getting a ton of irrelevant and unnecessary alerts. Lucky for us we still have some control. If you want to make a better use out of your iPhone’s notifications, keep reading.
1. Turn off Raise to Wake
Settings > Display & Brightness > Raise to Wake

Let’s start with turning off Raise to Wake feature, added to iPhone 6s and above in iOS 10. It may save you a little time, but it’ll also show your notifications every time when you pick your phone from desk or pocket. Save yourself these few times accidentally checking new alerts.
2. Turn off notification previews
Settings > Notifications > Show Previews

This tip is great for keeping your notifications more private. You can hide the content of notifications on the lock screen. The full preview will be shown only if your phone recognizes your fingerprints or face. On iPhone X it’s turned on by default.
3. Turn off most of the notifications
Settings > Notifications

Do you really need a notification for every like on Instagram or Twitter? I don’t think so. Turn off all notifications, with few exceptions:
- Messaging apps — you can leave these on, but it’s good to turn off sound alerts to keep yourself focused in case of messaging storm. Remember to manually turn off alerts from annoying group chats and chatbots.
- Phone and VoIP — if someone calls me that means he or she wants something from me now. It’s always the fastest way to reach me, so I want to leave it open.
- Productivity apps — if you use a calendar and reminder-based apps you should leave these on, so you want to miss anything important.
- Taxi and food delivery — it’s nice to know when your Uber is downstair or when your pizza is waiting.
4. Use History
Settings > Notifications

If turning off all notifications isn’t your thing you can try a different approach. You can turn off lock screen alerts but keep Show in History on. These are notifications that you can see when you scroll down in Notification Center. I use it to access alerts about emails and other non-time-sensitive things.
5. Use Do Not Disturb Mode
Settings > Do Not Disturb

I don’t understand why people don’t use Do Not Disturb. Do you want to be woken up in the middle of the night by some stupid alert so badly?
I have it scheduled from 10 pm to 8 am with exceptions for calls from my favorite contacts and repeated calls (second call from the same person within three minutes goes through).
6. Turn off badges
Settings > Notifications

These red dots are really, really bad for your attention. You unlock your phone with the goal in mind, but after seeing the badge floating around Mail icon you decide to check it first and forget what you were supposed to do.
I hope you found these tips helpful.