Your Ultimate Guide To Focus Modes
Distractions are everywhere.
Could be TikTok. Could be Instagram. Could be your roommate blasting rock music.
Apple made a solution 3 years ago. They called it Focus Modes.
Today, you’re going to learn how to use it.
Built-In Focus Modes 🔨
Apple has a few built-in focus modes.
These include:
- Fitness
- Gaming (great for locking in on Mario-Kart)
- Work
- Mindfulness
- Reading
- Personal
Go to Settings → Focus. Tap the plus button (it’s in the top right corner).
You’ll see a few default options pop up. Explore them and see if any sound cool.
Custom Focus Modes 🛠️
Maybe none of the built-in options work for you.
Apple has just the plan.
Here’s what the process looks like:
- Go to Settings → Focus and click the plus button.
- Tap “Custom”
- Pick a name
- Pick a color (orange any day 🧡)
- Pick an icon
This formally sets up the Focus mode. But it’s just the start.
Choose Your Favorite People 👥
One of my favorite features is picking which people can enter your phone.
Maybe you don’t care if a random guy you met three years ago texts you. But if your mom texts you, you need to respond fast (or else).
The ability to filter notifications is awesome. Only get texts if they’re from really really important people. Otherwise, just dive into your work.
Choose Your Favorite Apps 📱
Another cool feature is picking which apps can notify you.
You don’t really need Insta notifications. Or FaceBook notifications. Or MySpace notifications.
On the other hand, you might wanna know about important reminders.
Customize Lock Screen 🔒
In iPadOS 17, Apple introduced fancy wallpapers.
With Focus Modes, Apple has done something pretty sick: you can change your Lock Screen wallpaper based on your Focus Mode 🤯.
This feature probably isn’t super practical, but it can be super fun.
Think of all the possibilities:
- You can change which widgets appear
- You can add motivational wallpapers for specific Focus Modes
- You can change wallpapers based on the mood you’re feeling
- And so much more
Customize Home Screen 🏡
This feature is way more useful.
Apple also lets you change your Home Screen based on your Focus Mode.
I think this is huge.
You can change which Home Screen pages appear for each Focus Mode:
- You could create a page with only gaming apps for a Gaming Focus Mode
- You could create a page with only writing apps for a Writing Focus Mode
- You could create a page with only educational apps for a Study Focus Mode
The possibilities are endless.
Activation 🔛
How do you turn on Focus Modes?
Well, you could go to the Control Center and tap the Focus Mode icon.
But Apple has better ideas.
There are four trackers you can use to automatically enable Focus Modes:
- Location (ex: When I leave my dorm, enable the Study Focus Mode)
- Time (ex: After 11:00 PM, silence all notifications with a Sleep Focus Mode)
- App (ex: If I open my homework app, enable my Work Focus Mode).
- Smart Activation: Apple automatically decides for you with fancy AI tech
Once again, endless possibilities.
Focus Filters 🧘
Focus Filters are a relatively new feature.
It’s a cool concept.
Normal Focus Modes lets you filter notifications by apps and people. With Focus Filters, you can create filters within apps.
For instance:
- you can set which email accounts you can view in email apps like Spark.
- you can filter which calendars are viewable in Apple Calendars
- you can filter conversations in Messages
You can also set system settings:
- you can enable dark mode (useful for a sleep focus mode)
- you can enable low power mode
- you can turn on silent mode
Like with all of the features on this list, the possibilities are infinite.
Final Thoughts 💭
“There are always distractions, if you allow them” — Tony La Russa
Thanks for reading!
Adi
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