On Friday evening I turned off notifications for everything except phone calls. No messages, no email, no social media, no news. The quiet was immediate and slightly uncomfortable.
By Saturday morning my hand still reached for the phone out of habit. I would unlock it, stare at the empty screen, and remember there was nothing to check. The reflex faded slowly.
What surprised me was how much mental space returned. Without the constant background promise of interruption, my thoughts stretched out. I read more. I wrote more. I noticed the weather.
On Sunday night I turned notifications back on, but not all of them. Email can wait. Social apps stay muted. The important people know how to call.
The experiment cost me nothing and gave me back something I did not realize I had lost: the ability to be bored.