The Nuts and Bolts: Setting Up Your Focus Mode for Productivity
Theory is great, but practical application is what matters. Let’s walk through the exact steps to build your first “Deep Work” Focus Mode. The specific names of menus may vary slightly between iOS and Android versions, but the principles are identical.
Step-by-Step Guide for iOS Users
First, open your iPhone’s Settings app and tap on Focus. You’ll see default options like Do Not Disturb, Personal, and Sleep. Tap the plus icon (+) in the top right to create a new one. Choose Custom, give it a name like “Deep Work,” and select a relevant icon and color.
Next, you’ll configure who and what can get through. Under Allowed Notifications, tap on People. The key here is to be ruthless. Select “Allow Notifications From” and choose only the one or two people who represent a true emergency, such as a spouse or a child’s school. For everyone else, they can wait. Then, tap on Apps. Again, select “Allow Notifications From” and be extremely selective. For a true deep work session, you might allow no apps. Or, you might allow only your calendar app for meeting reminders. Remember, the goal is to eliminate unsolicited inputs.
The most powerful part is customizing your screens. Under Customize Screens, you can choose a specific Lock Screen and Home Screen page to be displayed when this Focus Mode is active. This is where your “One-Screen Phone” setup comes into play. Select the clean, curated Home Screen page you created earlier, the one with only your essential work apps. Now, when “Deep Work” is on, your phone transforms into a dedicated work device.
Finally, automate it. Under Set a Schedule, you can have your Focus Mode turn on automatically based on time, location, or even when you open a specific app. For example, you can set “Deep Work” to activate every weekday from 9 AM to 11 AM, or whenever you arrive at your office. This automation is crucial—it removes the need to remember, turning your focus practice into a true, low-friction habit.
Step-by-Step Guide for Android Users
On most Android devices, this feature is found under Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Focus mode. Once there, you’ll see a list of your apps.
The Android approach is slightly different but achieves the same goal. Instead of allowing apps, you select the apps you want to block. Scroll through your list and select every distracting app: social media, news, games, and anything else that pulls your attention away from your work. When you turn on this mode, these apps will be grayed out on your home screen, and you won’t receive any notifications from them. You can save this configuration as a named mode, like “Work Time.”
To automate this, tap on Set a schedule. You can create schedules for specific days and times. For instance, you could schedule your “Work Time” mode to run from Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 12 PM, and again from 1 PM to 4 PM. This creates a reliable structure for your day, building a digital fortress around your most productive hours.
While Android’s native Focus Mode doesn’t typically allow for the dynamic home screen switching that iOS does, you can achieve a similar effect by using a third-party launcher and automation apps like Tasker. However, the core benefit remains: by scheduling times where distracting apps are completely disabled, you are designing an environment for focus.
