This is Technology Bytes, Episode 4 for April 2, 2023.
Technology Bytes is a microcast where I share my brief insights on an interesting technology.
My name is Joel.
Enjoy, and here we go.
This week on Technology Bytes I want to talk about Apple’s Focus Mode.
So I’ll tell you a little bit more about it, how I use it, how you set it up, and go into a little bit of detail on its application.
So the first thing I want to talk about is what is Focus Mode.
Well, it’s a way for us to set our devices to not disturb us when we are trying to focus on a given subject, a given work event, or something like that.
There are different modes that Apple helps you set up so that you can be in the moment.
Because our electronic devices, our Apple Watches, our iPhones, our iPads, our Macs, they are always there to distract us.
They always have direct access to the world, which in turn allows us to be fully distracted from whatever it is that we’re trying to focus on.
And so Focus Mode is something that Apple came up with to help the users of their devices to almost disconnect from their systems.
However, that becomes unuseful because we need our devices often to accomplish the things that we want to accomplish in this life.
So I want to talk about how you set up Focus Mode.
So in the Settings app on your Mac, on your iPhone, on your iPad, there is a menu item that says Focus.
And that has some items that Apple has already populated there that you can then edit and use.
It has a way to add new ones for whatever it is that you would like to do.
You can share them across devices so that when you enter a given Focus Mode, and I’ll talk about how I use that in a little bit, then it happens to all of the devices in your ecosystem, everything logged into your Apple ID.
You can change home screens on your devices so that looking at the screen, you know what mode you’re in and what you’re trying to accomplish.
You can change your watch face.
You can look and make all of the devices in your ecosystem point you to the work, the play, the whatever it is that you’re trying to accomplish.
And the other thing you can do is you can have your Focus Mode set by where you are.
So when you arrive at a location, you can turn on a given Focus Mode.
And then that can turn off when you leave a given location.
Lots of different ways to use it, and I may not give it justice for all of the opportunities in this short microcast.
I’ve really covered in the last minute or so why you might choose to use Focus Mode.
Going into maybe a little more detail, when you are doing things that require your undivided attention, then you want to be in a Focus Mode.
I think of my son working from home, and so he closes his door.
He has a smart light that he turns red, and then his children know that he’s in a meeting or on a phone call, and he is not to be disturbed.
That is the idea of a Focus Mode.
And in our lives of constant distraction, Focus is probably something that we all need to learn to do better.
Let me tell you a few ways that I use Focus Mode.
So I don’t have a ton of different Focus Modes, but I do use them every day or every week, but very regularly.
Actually, most of them are every day, the ones that I use, and then one weekly, and I’ll get into that.
One thing that I did was set up a work Focus Mode, so that when I am at work, and this is a location-based, so when I drive up to my work location, this automatically turns on.
It limits the apps that can tell me anything.
So I don’t get sports scores, I don’t get news, I don’t get those kinds of things, unless I specifically look for it.
I don’t get phone calls from anybody except my immediate family, and then I have a phone app.
Our phone system at work allows me to have that app on my phone, so I give that app access.
So if someone calls my work number, then my phone rings, but only then.
If someone calls my personal number, it does not ring.
It goes straight to voicemail.
I don’t get any texts, I don’t get any notifications.
I really make the phone lock down to only be used for what I do at work.
So I have reminders turned on for a work list.
I have things that tell me what I need to know for work.
So I’ve got Teams, I’ve got Outlook, I’ve got all those things that are work-related that allow me to know what’s going on at work without being disturbed by things going on outside of work.
And it makes me be focused on work.
I also have a sleep focus mode, and so when I go to bed, my device is all going to sleep mode.
And the only noises that come through at that point would be text or phone calls from my immediate family.
So if something’s wrong with my kids or my mom, then those come through so that I get that notification.
I could probably turn those off because I’m with my wife most nights, and she always hears and knows what her phone is doing and would wake me up if something important happened.
But I leave that on for those instances where we happen to not be together.
And then that allows me to get good rest.
And I’m not necessarily focusing on sleep, but my devices are focused on allowing me to sleep.
The other place that I use it is for church activities, whether it be small groups or things actually at church.
And on that one, I set my devices into church mode, and so then nothing gets through.
The only app that is available to me is my Bible and my Notes app, because I use that for taking notes and discussion points, and the church app when I’m there for sermon notes and things like that.
I do allow text from my immediate family, but no phone calls, because I don’t want my phone to go off in the middle of a church service.
Now I know I could go through all the steps of silencing the phone or even just shutting it off, but because I use my iPad for doing all my church things, I use it for my Bible, I use it for my notes, it just makes it very useful when I’m in that mode to focus on what I want to know and learn about Jesus Christ.
So that is important to me, and it’s important to those around me that I don’t disturb them either.
So those are the ways that I use focus mode.
I use it for work, I use it for sleep, I use it for church, and there are probably other opportunities.
You could use it while you’re driving, you could use it if you’re at a coffee shop with friends where you don’t want to be disturbed by other people, so you just can focus on conversations and relationships there.
Lots of ways that you can use it, and Apple has lots of articles on their websites on how it can be useful as well.
You have been listening to the Technology Bites microcast.
Until next time, continue enjoying your technology.
