We all have priorities in our lives, but many of us often forego or delay them due to distractions.
That means staying focused can prove very challenging. While we love our smart devices, they are also one of the biggest sources of distraction that we must contend with.
Recognizing that struggle and that not all distractions are worth being placated, Apple developed a function on the iPhone that helps to mitigate distractions and maintain focus on our priorities in the form of user-defined Focus Modes.
These allow you extensive control over what your iPhone will permit to distract you while you are trying to concentrate on something pertinent.
In this comprehensive guide, we will talk about how to use Focus Modes on your iPhone to get back maximum efficiency in your time.
Focus Modes Explained
Focus Modes on iPhone let you personalize your experience. You can choose which alerts and notifications are filtered out while you’re busy.
This way, you can focus on activities like studying, driving, exercising, or reading without distractions.
While some people silence all notifications by putting their iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode, a more granular approach exists.
Focus Modes allow for customized filtering, letting you control exactly which notifications get through based on the situation.
Setting Up And Customizing Focus Modes
Enabling Focus modes and tailoring them to the adequate level of permissible notifications can be done in the following manner:
1. Open the Settings app on the iPhone and select the Focus tab.
2. You will notice a handful of options with Do Not Disturb at the top. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top right corner.
3. This will reveal a host of Focus modes, including Driving, Gaming, Work, Fitness, Personal, etc.
Tap on the one that is most pertinent to your current desired focus’s nature, or customize a new one from scratch. For the sake of this guide, we’ll pick Reading, then tap the Customize Focus button
4. The following screen will present a host of options of which notifications to allow. This includes choosing to receive them for only certain contacts and/or apps.
Tap on Choose People to select which people you want to receive notifications from. Then, tap on Choose Apps to select which apps you want to permit notifications
For either of the above, you can make selections from a list, choosing either the block list approach (prevent those people or apps from triggering notifications) or the allow list approach (allowing selected parties or programs to send notifications).
In the contacts listing, you can choose if you want to receive phone calls from certain contacts.
Note that you can choose how your home screen and lock screens look like during custom mode as well. Feel free to experiment with some options here.
For inspiration, check out how you can use Focus modes to create a distraction-free home screen.
Time-Sensitive Notifications
While you may have disabled notifications for particular apps, there might be certain types of notifications from those apps that you do want to allow during your times of focus.
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For instance, an app that reminds you of a scheduled commitment or to take your medication would likely warrant an otherwise suppressed notification.
To do this, you can set up customized time-sensitive notifications so that you do not miss important reminders.
Smart Activation
After setting up Focus Modes, activating them is a breeze. Simply swipe down from the top of your screen.
You’ll see the Do Not Disturb toggle. Tap it, then choose the Focus group you want to activate or select Do Not Disturb mode for complete silence.
However, you may not want to try to remember to do so every time you need them, especially if the periods of focus happen regularly every day.
You can use the Smart Activation feature from the “Customize Focus” section to set up periods during which that particular focus mode will be turned on.
The best part is that all you need to do is toggle on the Smart Activation toggle, and your iPhone will learn the times when you’d prefer not to be disturbed.
You can also tap on Add Schedule to set up particular days of the week and times during those days when the particular Focus mode should turn on automatically.
You can also designate the mode to turn on when you reach a particular location or while you are using a specific app. During those times, your Focus mode will be active.
Focus Filters
With all of the above said, there are still more ways to specify your filtering. This can be done with Focus Filters, also found in the Customize Focus section, by tapping Add Filter.
You can choose between App-level filters and System-level filters. App-level filters control how and when apps communicate with you, while System-level filters manage the iPhone’s behavior during filtered instances.
Wrap Up
Focus Modes are a powerful way for you to reduce distractions during times when they are unwanted or unwarranted.
Whether it is a personal task, sleep, meeting, work, driving, or study, setting your iPhone to certain Focus modes can allow you to prioritize your concentration goals without the frequent disruptions from notifications.
Your digital life will still be alive and well, but you will also accomplish more, stay focused, and be more productive if you hold control over limiting your obstacles to doing so.
