When iOS 8 hits, the notification center is going to be the most important screen in your iPhone. Think about it: Notifications already are the way you know about everything that happens without having to fire up an app. A notification lets you know you have a new email, a new text message, a new Snapchat. (Hi, Tony. Looking good.) But with iOS 8 they become interactive. They’re not just simple announcements–or even calls to action–anymore. They are actions in and of themselves. Entirely new windows onto our data. It’s nearly impossible to overstate how much this will change the way you use your phone.

— Mat Honan, Wired

I’m very cautious with notifications. They can be dangerous and annoying as shit.

Right now on my iPhone running iOS 7 I’ve turned off almost all notifications for email and text messages. I don’t get interrupted with message panels and windows whenever something new pops onto my phone. I find doing this helps me act less like a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Some people might view my OS customizations as making my iPhone less smart. I’m fine with that if it means making me less distracted.

I’ll keep an open mind with notifications in iOS 8 when I see how they work differently.