How to Use Focus Mode on Macs and iOS

With most of our technology, most of us dramatically underutilize the extensive list of features that came with it. Did you know you can have your computer read to you? Or create your own shortcuts? Change folder icons?

At Caveday, we’re mostly interested in the ones that help your attention and your work.

For iOS users (iPhone for any lay people reading this), their latest software update includes something called focus mode. It allows for different kinds of “modes” that can turn on and off different kinds of notifications and people allowed to message you. It’s incredibly helpful to take 3 minutes and set a few up for when you’re driving, winding down for bed, at work, and of course, in The Cave. Here’s a short walkthrough for how to do that.

Note: This is for iOS 15.

The new updates for iOS 16 (Released September 2022) are pretty impressive. They’re set up in the same place and some of them include:

• Different home screens for each focus mode

• Different tab groups in Safari that show up for different focus profiles

• An easier set-up experience

For Mac OS users, you can set up focus profiles in the same way.

Go to settings> “Notifications and Focus”

There, you can create the same profiles there. At the bottom, you can set your preferences to sync across devices. There, you can set the people and apps you want to appear and the schedule to set.

If you want to keep learning more about making your device work for you, check out:

How to Reset Your Tech Defaults and This Surprising Thing I did at Night Totally Changed My Mornings

---

Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.