How To Use Focus Assist In Windows 10

Focus assist is a useful feature that prevents you from getting distracted by unnecessary notifications. You may assume it as the DND (Do Not Disturb) mode for Windows 10 while you are busy with a task.

We will discuss how to use Focus assist to improve the… focus… on your work and keep yourself away from unnecessary interruptions.

Different Modes Of Focus Assist

Before you get to enable the feature, you should know what are the different modes of the feature. Here’s what it is:

• Off: This completely disables the Focus assist feature.
• Priority Only: This mode allows you to set priorities (contacts, reminders, and applications) – that means you get selected notifications.
• Alarms Only: If you are on a timer, or a tight schedule with an alarm set, you might want to enable this mode. This mode will not let any notifications disturb you, except the alarms.

How to Enable Focus Assist?

1. Using the Taskbar

The taskbar contains a couple of icons as a shortcut to some services (for example – the WiFi, the sound settings, and so on).
It also has a notification icon (as shown in the image above), you just need to right-click on that icon to find the focus assist option and then hover your cursor on it to enable/disable it.

2. Using the Action Center

It’s the same thing as accessing the option from the taskbar, but in this case, you get to access other options along with the Focus assist feature as well. Just click on the notification icon in the taskbar, and then find “Focus assist” tile in the notification area to toggle on/off. (for instance, turning on the night light, VPN, and more).

3. Using Settings

As an alternative, if you want more advanced control over the Focus assist feature (let us say that you want to adjust the time or the priorities), then you should head to the Settings first.
You should navigate your way to the “System” settings (as instructed in the screenshot above) and then click on the “Focus assist” option. You will get the option to disable it or enable it (priority mode or alarm-only mode).

In addition, you will also be able to customize the automatic rules so that you do not have to toggle it continuously – but automate it. We’ve discussed the automatic rules below, in case you are interested.

Focus Assist: Automatic Rules

You can choose to disable or enable the automatic rules available through the system settings. But, you need to first understand – and explore what the rules mean to you.

• Setting the time for Focus to assist to turn on/off: If you do not want to enable/disable the feature repeatedly, you can simply set a time period as to when the Focus assist feature kicks in and turns off.
  As shown in the image above, you can set a start time and an end time to it while you also get the ability to change the focus mode (priority/alarm-only). In addition, you can also control the repeats (daily/weekends/weekdays).
• While duplicating your display: If you are connecting your system to a projector (assuming if it is for a presentation), you would not want to get annoyed by the notifications.
• When playing a game: Of course, you do not want anyone to distract you from getting the frags, I understand.
  So, in that case, you should keep this automatic rule enabled to prevent any notifications from popping up while you are gaming.

Wrapping Up

Focus assist is a really useful feature in Windows 10 and now that you’ve known how to use the feature, I bet unnecessary notifications will not be a problem anymore. Have you tried the Focus assist feature in Windows 10? If yes, which focus level do you prefer to enable it with?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

Ankush Das
Categories: Computers
Tags: DND mode, focus assist, Windows 10