Latest news with #NotDisturb
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How this feature helps reduce crashes caused by distracted driving, AAA study
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – In a recent study conducted by AAA, the 'Do Not Disturb' feature on smartphones decreased distracted driving by 41 percent. In Massachusetts, texting while driving was banned in February 2020 as part of the state's 'hands-free' law. Although texting while behind the wheel is banned in almost all 50 states, more than 3,200 people were killed due to distracted driving in 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Springfield deadly hit-and-run suspect to due in court In an effort to prevent drivers from receiving notifications while driving, Apple launched the 'Do Not Disturb While Driving' feature in 2017. However, despite the potential to reduce distraction, this feature is not widely used by drivers. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released its findings on why drivers avoid the do-not-disturb feature. They say that misconceptions about how this technology worked, FOMO (fear of missing out), such as missing an important call or text, limit access to features such as music or navigation as well. During the research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it showed that when the do not disturb feature was activated, it can be effective in reducing smartphone interactions when driving. An on-road study was conducted with participants aged 18-24 who were monitored for 10 weeks, five weeks with no intervention, and five weeks using a smartphone feature. AAA found the following results during the 10-week driving study: Before training: 50% of participants did not know their phone had a DND feature. 85% reported not knowing how to use it. 65% did not know it could be set to turn on automatically when driving was detected. After training: 100% of participants knew their phone had a DND feature, knew how to use it and knew that it could be set to turn on automatically. There was a 41% decrease in smartphone interactions. Participants were 6% less likely to pick up their phone. Opinions of DND features remained unchanged. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
WIRED
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
It Might Be Time to Ditch Your Emotional Support Hoodie
The hoodie is a work-from-home security blanket. But in the office, it's a trap. THE OFFICE -- "Casual Friday" Episode 24 -- Pictured: (l-r) John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, Ed Helms as Andy Bernard, Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson (Photo by Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) NBC/Getty Images I write this while cocooned in my favorite hoodie, a beloved garment that has tenure in my wardrobe. At this moment, one with my couch, I am flirting with the idea of an afternoon nap. Sometimes I work from bed. I'm not exactly the poster child for productivity. But on the days I swap my emotional support hoodie for, say, a sweater, I sit up straighter at my desk. My emails are crisper. I act like a functional adult. Clothes are psychological armor, and the hoodie is an invitation to dissolve into sentient fleece. It's the sartorial equivalent of a Do Not Disturb sign. Studies support this: A 2023 paper published in the Academy of Management Journal found that employees who dressed better than usual experienced higher self-esteem and productivity. Another survey from 1999 reported that casual workwear policies were linked to increased tardiness and absenteeism. The hoodie encourages you to clock out. Power up with unlimited access to WIRED . Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today . Message Received What we wear affects how we behave, think, and perform—a concept psychologists call 'enclothed cognition.' Clothes carry meaning, and we absorb that meaning when we put them on. A notable experiment from Northwestern University found that people who wore lab coats, an item associated with intelligence, demonstrated better focus and task performance. Whether we like it or not, clothes shape how others see us, too. Even in my remote world—where most of my professional interactions involve floating heads on screens—I ditch the hoodie for interviews and important meetings. Clothing sends a message. In a professional setting, a hoodie tells your boss, coworkers, or clients that you'd rather be anywhere else. That's perfect for a lazy Sunday—it's not so great for climbing the corporate upon a time, workplaces had dress codes. Then the late 1990s happened, and Silicon Valley ditched suits for sweats. Tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg enshrined the zip-up as a power move, styling it with Adidas slides and an expression of monotony. Even though Zuckerberg has abandoned his hoodies in favor of tailored tees (and the occasional sparkly jumpsuit), one of his old sweatshirts recently sold for nearly $16,000 at auction. The Covid-19 pandemic supercharged this casual revolution, with companies relaxing dress policies under the guise of boosting employee morale and staff retention rates. But this experiment in radical coziness has a built-in inequality. The Hoodie as a Status Symbol The 'red sneakers effect,' a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, suggests that individuals who break dress norms—like wearing red sneakers in a corporate environment–are perceived as having higher status. But this rule-breaking is only powerful when the rule-breaker is already powerful. A CEO in a hoodie, for example, reads as too brilliant to care. An entry-level employee in a hoodie, on the other hand, signals a lack of seriousness. Women and people of color face even steeper biases. According to a 2024 survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 54 percent of employers have a business-casual dress code, and 43 percent allow casual attire. In theory, this means more freedom for all. In practice, it means more ambiguity. Very few people can get away with looking like they've just rolled out of bed. If you have to work harder to prove that you belong, you don't have that luxury. The hoodie masquerades as an everyman's garment, but in the office, it's a rich man's privilege. For the rest of us, it just makes it easier to be overlooked. The hoodie, in particular, carries a complicated history. It's been a flash point for racial profiling, particularly against Black men. Studies from Oregon State University found that Black male athletes were viewed as more intelligent and hardworking when dressed in formal clothing compared to athleisure. Even when their garments signified success (i.e., championship tees), their perceptions didn't improve. The biases tied to hoodies don't disappear when one steps into the office. A Changing Workplace Of course, not all workplaces are the same—not even all people are the same. Even as tech titans have long since abandoned their humble uniforms in favor of Loro Piana and Lanvin, everyday working people are redefining what professionalism looks like. None of this is to say that workplaces should return to suits and pantyhose. Formal wear has its own gendered, classist, and uncomfortable baggage. But now that we're all returning to the office, we have to start redefining what professionalism looks like. And I don't think it should look like pajamas all the time. We adore hoodies because they're comfy and schlumpy, but that's not how you want your boss to describe you in your performance review. The takeaway here isn't to submit to old standards but to be intentional about how we present ourselves in the environment we're in. Wear whatever makes you feel confident and capable, but remember that others will make judgments based on your attire. If you work on a construction site or in the field, pair your hoodie with your hard hat proudly. But if you're in an office—even a home office—consider a structured sweater instead. Like picking the right tote bag, your attire can be a professional asset. When used thoughtfully, it can work for you instead of against you.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Experts Reveal The 7 Hidden iPhone Hacks That Help Them Be More Productive
If you're an iPhone user, you know that they can be both a necessary tool for our jobs and also the very tool that keeps us from getting any work done. There are features that can help you get the most out of using an iPhone, so you remain focused. Productivity experts and professionals told HuffPost about their favorite hacks and features to help them stay on task. Try for yourself: Anna Dearmon Kornick, a time management coach, said that turning on the iPhone's Do Not Disturb feature is her go-to when she wants to avoid being distracted by notifications. 'I love it because when I set my iPhone to Do Not Disturb, it extends to my laptop notifications, too,' she said. What makes it different from Airplane Mode ― which disables your phone's ability to connect to cellular or Wi-Fi networks ― is that you can still allow certain notifications to come through, she said. 'I've noticed that a lot of productivity experts recommend putting your phone in Airplane Mode while you work, putting your phone in another room, or locking it in a drawer,' she said. 'As a mom to two little girls in daycare, Airplane Mode or going completely off the grid is not an option for me, because I need to be available in case of an emergency. Within the Do Not Disturb settings, you can allow notifications from certain people within your contacts or specific apps, so the girls' daycare is able to reach me even while I'm in Do Not Disturb mode.' To turn on Do Not Disturb: 1. Go to Settings, select Focus.2. Tap Do Not Disturb. From there, you can choose to allow notifications from selected people or apps. If you tend to forget details about the people you meet and network with, try typing in those details alongside their contact info. 'You may automatically save phone numbers and email addresses in your Contacts app, but take things a step further and utilize more information fields in Contacts,' said productivity consultant and time management coach Rashelle Isip. 'You can add in helpful information for contacts like birthdays, anniversaries, important dates, family members, and work contacts,' she said. 'You can create custom labels, add pronunciation fields, and take notes. You add in information once, and it's there for easy reference in future.' To add more details in Contacts: 1. Select your phone icon, go to Contacts and select a person's contact entry.2. From there, select Edit. You can fill in fields like birthday, URL and email, and you can write notes in the select field. 'If you have to send in a lot of signed/filled out documents like camp registration or school permission forms, and these organizations don't generally use electronic signatures, then the Notes function on an iPhone can save a ton of time,' said Laura Vanderkam, author of 'Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters.' 'It creates a PDF from your scan and you can then email it straight to whoever is asking for it,' she said. 'Other than that, I think the best productivity app is staying off your phone as much as possible.' To scan documents from your phone: 1. Open Notes and select a note or create a new one.2. Tap the paper clip icon inside Notes, select Scan Documents and place your document in the camera's view to scan.3. Your document will automatically scan if it's in Auto Mode, but you may need to manually capture a scan by tapping the Shutter button. Harleny Vasquez, a New Jersey-based career coach for social workers, said she uses the built-in Reminders app on iOS devices. 'In taking the time to create and set up reminders, it can give you the peace of mind in ensuring important tasks, meetings and deadlines are not missed or overlooked,' she said. 'These types of reminders can also help you stay organized and focused, including allowing you to set the foundation to take necessary breaks and prevent burnout.' To set up Reminders: 1. Go to the Reminders app and tap New Reminder. 2. Use the Title and Notes fields to type out what you want to remember. 3. Tap the Date and Time button to set due dates for your reminder. Tap the Photos button if you want to attach a photo with your reminder. 4. If Location Services is turned on, you can also receive location-based reminders and choose whether you want to be notified when arriving or leaving a perimeter area. 'To protect my energy and time, I use the Focus mode, which allows me to mute notifications and minimize distractions,' Vasquez said. To turn on Focus: 1. Go to Settings and select Focus. 2. Select a Focus option, such as Personal, Sleep or Work. From there, you can customize how you want to allow or silence notifications from certain people and apps during set hours. If you find yourself automatically scrolling social media or checking emails when you should be working, try setting app limits, productivity consultant Samphy Y recommends. 'I've found that endless email and social media scrolling tricks my brain into feeling busy and satisfied, when I'm really just procrastinating,' he said. 'Restricting app access flips that switch and forces me to sit with boredom and discomfort. That's when the real work happens.' For example, Y said that he restricts his access to email to only a few hours. 'I get more done in those two hours of email than I would in an unlimited email day,' he said. To set app limits: 1. Go to Settings, select Screen Time, then App Limits and select Add Limit. 2. From there, you can set daily time limits for app categories like 'social' or specific websites. Have you ever noticed how the iPhone's lock screen automatically turns on when you pick up your device? That's known as the Raise to Wake feature. Y, the productivity consultant, said that turning off the Raise to Wake feature has helped him reduce distractions, because it makes it a little harder to get sucked into automatically using his phone. To turn off Raise to Wake: 1. Go to Settings, then select Display & Brightness.2. Tap Raise to Wake to turn the setting off or on. 5 Things Productivity Experts Do If They've Been Putting Off A Task 7 Extremely Cool Things You Probably Didn't Know Your iPhone Can Do 12 Ways To Make Your iPhone Run Faster
