How to Use ‘Do Not Disturb’ Mode in the OS X Mountain Lion Notification Center

One of the most useful features in OS X Mountain Lion is the Notification Center, which keeps you informed of calendar events, Twitter replies, mail messages, and more while using your Mac – but sometimes you don’t want to be bothered with notifications.

Fortunately, Apple has thought of that. As first noted by 9to5Mac back in May, Apple has build a “do not disturb” mode directly into Notification Center, muting all notifications on your Mac until the next day, or until you turn them back on (whichever comes sooner). “Do not disturb” mode can be activated in one of two ways:

• Open Notification Center by clicking the small icon right next to the Finder in the upper right hand corner of your screen. Then, with your cursor inside the notification box, just scroll down with your trackpad or mouse, and you’ll see a switch which you can toggle on and off. Just flip the switch and you’re set!

• A much easier method is to hold down the Option key while clicking the Notification Center icon, which turns the black bars to grey and immediately turns off your notifications.

The scrolling method is more fun, I promise!

Make sure to check out our full Mountain Lion coverage for all of the latest updates, or check our Mountain Lion U category to see all of the latest Mountain Lion features, tips, tricks, and tutorials!