I use a Pebble watch. Not sure if I find it to be that much less of a distraction, but it certainly allows you to be more responsive to the notifications with very little action, as you can quickly see the them in a near zero-touch way. I've found it better for me than my phone where I need a complete context switch to get my phone out to see the message (and unlock it, if neccessary). I also use Pushbullet when at my desktop, so phone notifications are displayed on my monitor and allows you to respond to things like SMS.
I'd probably be happier and less distracted if I was "polling" for messages, but I don't trust myself to do that regularly enough so having low friction notifications suits me better.
I'd probably be happier and less distracted if I was "polling" for messages, but I don't trust myself to do that regularly enough so having low friction notifications suits me better.