One of the 21st century problems we face is instant communication. Not long ago, communication was limited to email. Before that there were scheduled phone calls and hand written letters. Before letters…pigeons?

But today we have iMessaging and FaceTime. I can text people in the States the same as I text people next door, for free, at any time of the day.

So where is the problem? The problem is that I live 6-9 hours ahead of many of those who are receiving my texts or answering our FaceTime. Once, we FaceTimed my parents at 10 am our time, which was a respectable hour for us. Their 3 am alarm clock was not quite so respectable. We are sorry.

So how do we capitalize on instantaneous communication (truly a gift from God) without suffering from sleep deprivation caused by the pinging, beeps, buzzes, and 80’s hair band ring tones?

Enter Do Not Disturb.

The following is for iOS users. Those using Android can figure it out on their own.

Go to Settings

Click on “Do Not Disturb”

Set your Scheduled time for times that work for you.

This way I don’t feel badly for sending you a text before lunch when you should be hitting your REM cycle.