Try Focus mode for a peaceful digital day.

Are you tired of constantly being distracted by notifications while you're trying to work, workout, or worse being woken up by them? Before iOS 15 Apple offered us the ability to turn on Do Not Disturb mode, which was helpful but not necessarily customizable enough to use regularly throughout the day. The new Focus Mode now allows you to set which notifications you'd like to receive, from whom, and when.

What is a Focus mode? It's basically a way to set a selective Do Not Disturb. You can now customize Focus Mode settings to let notifications from certain people and apps through. When you want to concentrate on a specific activity, you can customize one of the provided Focus options or create a custom Focus. You can use a Focus to temporarily silence all notifications, or allow only specific notifications—ones that apply to your task, for example—and let other people and apps know you’re busy.

Tip: To quickly silence all notifications, open Control Center, tap Focus, then turn on Do Not Disturb.

Here's how to set up a Focus mode on your iPhone:

Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone to open the Control Center. (If you have a first-generation iPhone SE or an iPhone 8 or earlier, you will swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open Control Center.)

In the left column near the center tap the Focus control button. It will be displaying whatever Focus mode you most recently had on you have already set up Focus.

From here, you can select Do Not Disturb, Work, Personal, or Sleep.

Additionally, you can add and create custom Focus modes by tapping New Focus. I have created a specific one for Fitness for when I work out. You can be as creative as you want to be.

Tap anywhere on the background to exit.

If you have updated to iOS 16, you can set customized lock screens and home screens and even a specific watch face for a Focus mode. You can set a custom schedule and even have your lock screen dim when it comes on .

I turn on Share Across Devices to make sure Focus mode turns on for all of my devices.

And that's it! Your selected Focus mode filter is now enabled, and you'll only receive notifications that you have allowed as part of that Focus setting. To disable Focus mode, simply tap the Focus icon in the Control Center or you can press the active Focus icon on your Lock Screen to turn it off.

Hope you enjoy some peaceful times using your personalized Focus mode. And if you find this to hard to do on your own, I am always here to help.