Learn Hardcore Russian: Чтобы не было отвлечений, я выключаю уведомления и стараюсь не отвлекаться на чат. - So that there are no distractions, I turn off notifications and try not to get distracted by the chat.

Чтобы + past tense verb often expresses a goal, purpose, or desired result.
Чтобы не было отвлечений literally: so that there would not be distractions / so that there would be no distractions.

Even though было is formally past tense, in this construction it’s not really about past time; it’s about a desired or prevented situation. So the whole thing is best understood as:

Чтобы не было отвлечений = (I do this) so that there are no distractions / to avoid distractions.

Why is it не было, which looks like past tense, if we’re talking about a present/future situation?

Russian uses the past tense here because of the чтобы construction, which implies something like the subjunctive in English (a wished-for or prevented state), not literal past time.

Compare:

не было отвлечений – there were no distractions.
чтобы не было отвлечений – so that there would be no distractions / in order that there be no distractions.

So:

The time is actually linked to я выключаю уведомления (present, habitual).
The past form было is there because Russian uses past tense forms to build this kind of hypothetical/desirable meaning with чтобы, not because the situation is in the past.

Why is it отвлечений and not something like отвлечения or отвлечение?

Отвлечений is the genitive plural of отвлечение (distraction).

The base noun:
- отвлечение – a distraction.
- отвлечения – distractions (nominative plural).
After нет / не было / не будет (and similar expressions of non-existence), Russian normally uses the genitive case:
- нет отвлечений – there are no distractions.
- не было отвлечений – there were no distractions.
- не будет отвлечений – there will be no distractions.
So in чтобы не было отвлечений:
- не было triggers the genitive.
- We’re talking about more than one distraction in general, so it’s plural.

Hence: отвлечений (genitive plural).

What is the difference between отвлечений and отвлекаться?

They are related but different parts of speech:

отвлечений – noun (genitive plural of отвлечение):
- отвлечение – a distraction.
- отвлечений – of distractions / no distractions.
отвлекаться – reflexive verb, imperfective:
- basic meaning: to get distracted, to be distracted, to let your attention wander.
- не отвлекаться – not to get distracted.

In the sentence we have both:

не было отвлечений – there were no distractions (no distracting things).
не отвлекаться на чат – not to get distracted by the chat (not to allow yourself to be distracted).

One talks about things that distract (noun), the other about the action of becoming distracted (verb).

Why is it стараюсь не отвлекаться, and not something like стараюсь не отвлечься?

Both не отвлекаться and не отвлечься are possible in Russian, but the aspect changes the nuance:

отвлекаться – imperfective:
- describes an ongoing or repeated process.
- стараюсь не отвлекаться – I try not to get distracted (in general / as a rule, as a continuous effort).
отвлечься – perfective:
- describes a single, completed act of getting distracted.
- стараюсь не отвлечься – I try not to get (even once) distracted (in some specific situation).

In the given sentence, the speaker is describing a general strategy or habit, so the imperfective не отвлекаться is more natural.

Why is уведомления in that form? What case is it?

Уведомления here is plural accusative, and for inanimate nouns, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural.

Singular:
- уведомление – a notification.
Plural (nominative / accusative inanimate):
- уведомления – notifications.

With the verb выключать (to turn off), the direct object takes the accusative:

выключаю уведомления – I turn off notifications.

So the form уведомления is just accusative plural, agreeing with выключаю.

What is the aspect of выключаю, and why is that aspect used here?

Выключаю is the imperfective aspect (1st person singular of выключать – to turn off).

Imperfective is used because:

the sentence describes what the speaker usually or regularly does to avoid distractions.
It’s about a habit / repeated action, not a single one-time event.

Compare:

Каждый день, чтобы не было отвлечений, я выключаю уведомления.
I turn off notifications every day so there are no distractions. (habit → imperfective)
Сейчас, чтобы не было отвлечений, я выключу уведомления.
Now, so that there are no distractions, I will turn off notifications. (one specific future action → perfective выключу).

What does отвлекаться на чат literally mean? Why на?

Отвлекаться на что-то is a common pattern in Russian:

отвлекаться на что-то – to get distracted by something (literally: to get distracted onto something).

So:

отвлекаться на чат – to get distracted by the chat (to let your attention go to the chat).

The preposition на with the accusative often implies direction toward a target:

смотреть на экран – to look at the screen.
реагировать на сообщения – to react to messages.
отвлекаться на чат – to get distracted by the chat (attention goes onto the chat).

That’s why it’s на чат and not another preposition.

Could I say чтобы не отвлекаться на чат, я выключаю уведомления instead of чтобы не было отвлечений? How would it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Чтобы не отвлекаться на чат, я выключаю уведомления.

The difference in nuance:

Чтобы не было отвлечений – focuses on distractions existing or not (no distracting factors in general).
Чтобы не отвлекаться на чат – focuses on your own behavior (your tendency to get distracted).

The original full sentence actually combines both ideas:

Чтобы не было отвлечений – to remove distractions in general,
стараюсь не отвлекаться на чат – and I also control myself so I don’t get distracted by the chat.

If you replace the first part with чтобы не отвлекаться на чат, you narrow the focus to chat as the distraction and your reaction to it.

Why does the sentence start with Чтобы не было отвлечений? Could I put that clause at the end?

Yes, you can move it:

Я выключаю уведомления и стараюсь не отвлекаться на чат, чтобы не было отвлечений.

Both word orders are grammatically correct. The difference is in emphasis:

Starting with Чтобы не было отвлечений:
- emphasizes the goal/purpose first.
- then explains what you do to achieve it.
Ending with ..., чтобы не было отвлечений:
- presents the actions first,
- then sums up their purpose at the end.

Both are very natural in Russian; word order is fairly flexible, especially with чтобы-clauses.

Why is чтобы pronounced more like штобы?

In normal spoken Russian, чтобы is usually pronounced with [ш] at the beginning: [штобы].

This is an example of a common sound change:

ч before some consonants (especially т, с) is often pronounced closer to ш in fluent, natural speech.
Spelling stays the same (чтобы), but pronunciation is softer and easier.

So you might hear:

чтобы → [штобы]
что → [што]

This is not informal slang; it’s very standard in real spoken Russian.

Is чтобы here one word or two (like что бы)?

In this sentence, чтобы is one word.

чтобы as one word is a conjunction meaning so that / in order that / in order to and introduces a clause of purpose or result:
- Чтобы не было отвлечений, ...
что бы as two separate words is quite different:
- что – what,
- бы – particle used in conditional/subjunctive constructions.
- Example: Что бы мне почитать? – What should I read? / What could I read?

Here we clearly have the purpose meaning (so that there are no distractions), so it must be written as a single word: чтобы.