Ryan Dahl, when I asked him why he quit G+, said it was because he was tired of a red alert icon floating into view as he was trying to use the web.
It's taken me, your author, @rektide, years to catch up with this burnt out/worn out state, to where I just couldn't take the nuissance and distraction, but Greyelershian is a cure.
Greyelershian paints the notification alert label a calm grey. It's a simple user script.
You and I will probably still handle far too many interruptions into the real work we're doing, but hopefully we'll feel a little less pressed to distraction.
Keep'n it calm, cheers.