Among all the other bits of advice people are sharing about using #mastodon, let me give you the most important piece of advice from 30 years of being on online platforms.

**Turn off notifications.**

Turn them off for email, for your phone, for your toolbar.

Nothing is that important. It doesn't matter if your post went viral. You'll find out when you choose to look.

I promise you, it will vastly improve your day to not have "ping" from your phone all the time.

@EricaFriedman One important piece of #advice is to use lots of Hashtags please. 😏😉 #newhere #mastodonbeginners #help
@AmiW Good #advice. I admit to being very bad at hashtags. It always seems self-serving, "look at me!" Too IG/influencer for me. I'm trying.