[Funes-]

If everyone muted or ignored IMs whenever they were trying to focus on something, the whole purpose of instant messaging would fail; it would not be "instant" anymore, so we would all effectively go back to phone calls and e-mail.

Also very important: there is a huge design flaw in any piece of technology that, for it not to disrupt your entire life, you have to deliberately ignore it or find ways to not let it sabotage every action you try to take.