What is notification audit?

Notification audit is a concept in personal epistemology: Every notification you allow is an attention tax — audit ruthlessly.

Example: You pick up your phone to check the weather and see 14 notifications: two from news apps, three from group chats you muted last month (but not their notifications), a promotional push from a food delivery app, a game you haven't opened in six weeks, and seven social media alerts. You didn't ask for any of them. Each one demanded a micro-decision — read or dismiss — and each micro-decision pulled your attention away from the thing you actually picked up the phone to do. By the time you check the weather, you've also opened Instagram, replied to a message, and forgotten why you unlocked the phone in the first place.

This concept is part of Phase 4 (Attention and Focus) in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for attention and focus.