Focus Modes
The most underrated iOS feature EVER!
Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite features for Apple products: Focus Modes! Focus Modes came out a few years ago with the release of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey. Most of you probably use Do Not Disturb, which is a focus mode. Focus Modes are much more than this, though, and can help you be very focused and productive. First, they allow you to silence notifications from specific people and certain apps at designated times. Rather than silencing all notifications, you can let in a few people or apps that you need to receive notifications from at that time. Focus modes also allow you to tell people that you have notifications silenced. Besides allowing you to silence notifications, here are the 3 things I love the most about focus modes…
Customizable Home and Lock Screens: With each focus mode, you can set specific home screens or lock screens to appear. I frequently use this on my iPad because it is outstanding to have different home screens available at different times. This allows me to stay focused more, as I’m only seeing the apps and widgets that relate to my current task.
Focus Filters: Focus Filters allow you to filter out or focus on specific items. For example: hide messages you receive from certain people, show only specific calendars, or toggle dark mode. Focus Filters make it easier to stay focused and customize your focus. Sadly, not many developers have implemented this, which is disappointing.
Automatic Activation : Let’s be honest, none of us are going to remember to turn these focuses on when we need to. That is where automatic activation is helpful. This allows your Focus to automatically turn on when you need it. You can set it up to turn on at a specific time, place, or when using a certain app!
Okay, so hopefully now you see that focus modes are awesome, but you may need some ideas as to what focus modes you should have on your device. Here are some examples of focus modes that I use and that you could also use:
Work/School: Obviously, you will want to have notifications silenced at work/school, so you can focus on what you are working on. You can set up your device to display specific home screens containing apps you use for work/school. You might have it silence everyone except for important people (family members) that may need to get to you. Furthermore, you can also use focus filters to only display your work/school email or work/school calendar. Finally, you can have the focus activate during the hours when you are working or when you arrive at your workplace/school.
Personal: I use “Personal” for multiple different reasons. I use this when my family is eating dinner, when I’m at church, or other times when I need some notifications silenced. I have it silence everyone, except for some of my family members. This focus isn’t super specific, but I use it when I want to silence everyone but my family.
Sleep: Sleep focus is pretty self-explanatory. I have it silence all notifications, except for my parents. It also activates dark mode. With sleep mode, you can have it activate when you normally go to bed and turn off when you normally wake up.
Driving: Driving focus is unique from the other focuses because it can automatically activate when it knows you are driving. Driving focus can even send people a message telling them that you are driving and will get back to them later. This focus is great for eliminating distractions while driving!
I hope those give you an idea of what you can do with focus modes! Focus modes are straightforward to set up. Just go to setting, focus, and hit the plus icon. Your device will lead you through the steps to create your new focus mode, or you can select from a default one. I’m serious, you should really use these if you aren’t already, because this is one of the most underrated features on Apple devices! I use it in my everyday life, and I hope you start using it too! Read more about focus modes and how to set them up here. If you have any questions about how to set them up, please drop those in the comments section!