[xwowsersx]

> Block my calendar between 8am-12pm and put "programming" in my status with notifications turned off.

This is the way. I'm not always in a position to be able to do this, but especially if you have a lot of people relying on you, because you manage others or are generally the focal point of a lot of organizational needs, people are simply going to be pinging you constantly. Especially when those are DMs, each individual who reaches out has no idea that you're responding to multiple messages at once. So the only way is to block it out on your calendar and only be available for emergencies. A side benefit of this that I've experienced is that others who are looking for guidance or mentorship, like with programming tasks or whatever, end up being a lot more discriminating in what they reach out and bother you for. That's a benefit not only to you, but to them as well because it forces them to question whether they've been as resourceful and diligent as they could be. Oftentimes, they are able to find the answers on their own, but if you're too easily reached, they may rely on you as a crutch. (It's for this reason that I tell my direct reports that I'm almost always happy to help them work through a problem, but they need first 1) identify what they know and don't know 2) identify what they've tried and haven't 3) be able to articulate the context very clearly and 4) generally take pride in communicating what they need assistance with in a very concise and clear matter. Holding people to that standard helps them because just dotting the i's and crossing the t's often clarifies what the problem is and very often leads them to be able to find a solution themselves)

I have found that people are generally very receptive to and respectful of the time blocking. I've never experienced anyone thinking it is off-putting or otherwise out of bounds. They simply know when you're heads down and only reachable for emergencies and when they can more freely reach out to chat or get help.