Notification Priority System

Notification Priority System

The Notification Priority System is the action component of the Flow Protection Framework, responsible for intelligently managing interruptions based on flow state and impact assessment.

Core Principles

The Notification Priority System operates on several foundational principles:

1. Flow State Preservation: Protect deeper flow states (61-100) from unnecessary interruptions
2. Contextual Assessment: Evaluate notifications within the user’s current context
3. Intelligent Batching: Group lower-priority notifications to minimize interruptions
4. Contextual Recovery: Provide context preservation for unavoidable interruptions
5. Adaptive Learning: Improve prioritization through pattern recognition over time

Priority Classification

The system classifies notifications into four priority levels:

Priority Level	Score	Description	Default Behavior
Urgent	9-10	Critical notifications requiring immediate attention	Immediate delivery
Important	7-8	Significant notifications that may warrant interruption	Delivery during natural breaks
Standard	4-6	Routine notifications without time sensitivity	Batched delivery at intervals
Low	1-3	Background information and updates	Held until flow exit

Delivery Mechanisms

The system employs multiple delivery mechanisms based on priority and flow state:

Immediate Delivery

• Full visual and audio notification
• Used for urgent notifications regardless of flow state
• Includes context preservation to aid in recovery

Ambient Awareness

• Subtle visual indicators without audio
• Used for important notifications during deep flow
• Designed to be non-disruptive while maintaining awareness

Batched Delivery

• Grouped notifications delivered at predetermined intervals
• Used for standard notifications to minimize disruption frequency
• Includes summary information to reduce processing time

Deferred Delivery

• Notifications held until appropriate moment
• Used for low-priority items during flow states above 30
• Delivered during natural breaks or flow state transitions

Suppressed Delivery

• Notifications blocked entirely
• Used for low-priority items during deep flow (81-100)
• Accessible through manual notification check

Decision Framework

The notification priority decision process follows this algorithm:

1. Evaluate Flow State: Determine current flow score (0-100)
2. Assess Notification: Calculate priority score (1-10) using impact assessment
3. Apply Decision Rules:
   • If priority ≥ 9, deliver immediately
   • If priority 7-8 and flow score < 80, deliver immediately
   • If priority 7-8 and flow score ≥ 80, use ambient delivery
   • If priority 4-6, batch for interval delivery
   • If priority ≤ 3 and flow score < 30, deliver immediately
   • If priority ≤ 3 and flow score ≥ 30, defer or suppress

Implementation Strategy

The current implementation uses a manual process:

1. Document flow states during development sessions
2. Manually classify notifications by estimated priority
3. Record impact on flow state when interruptions occur
4. Analyze patterns to refine priority classification

Future implementations will include:

1. Automated Flow Detection:
   • Real-time flow state monitoring
   • Contextual flow score calculation
2. OS-Level Integration:
   • Operating system notification interception
   • Application-specific priority configuration
3. Adaptive Learning:
   • User response pattern analysis
   • Priority adjustment based on historical impact
4. Context Preservation:
   • Automatic context saving before interruptions
   • Quick recovery assistance after interruption

Meta-Implementation Application

The Notification Priority System concept is currently applied to FloShake’s development through:

1. Flow Session Planning: Scheduling focused development sessions
2. Distraction Management: Manual muting of notifications during flow sessions
3. Interruption Documentation: Recording and analyzing interruption patterns
4. Recovery Strategies: Developing techniques to reestablish flow after necessary interruptions

By creating a structured approach to notification management, the system allows knowledge workers to maintain flow state for longer periods while still remaining accessible for truly urgent communications.