Windows 11 has many productivity tools, and Focus Assist is one of them. Below is how to use Focus Assist on Windows 11 to minimize distractions while working.
Focus Assist on Windows 11 is a useful feature, allowing you to focus on important tasks and stay away from unnecessary distracting notifications. You can easily configure Focus Assist as you like. Let's explore with WebTech360 how to enable and customize Focus Assist on Windows 11 !
How to turn on Focus Assist on Windows 11
1. Turn on Focus Assist via Settings on Windows 11
- Go to Settings in the Start menu > click on Best match to open settings.
- Click System from the sidebar, then click Focus assist .
- At the Focus assist tab , select one of the available modes ( Off , Priority only , Alarms only ).
- Check the small square under Alarms only to see missed notifications.
Priority only mode allows the apps you choose to show notifications, Alarms only blocks all notifications except alarms. To select the list of apps and contacts you want to display notifications for, click Customize priority list .
2. Turn on Focus Assist using Action Center
- Open Action Center by clicking on the system tray icon in the taskbar.
- Switch through different Focus Assist modes by repeatedly clicking on its icon.
If you don't see the Focus Assist icon in Action Center, you can add it by clicking the pencil icon.
How to automatically block notifications on Windows 11
Block automatic notifications during specific time periods
To set Focus Assist to turn on and block automatic notifications during the day:
- Find Settings in the Start menu , click Best match to open Settings.
- Click System > Focus assist .
- In the Automatic rules tab , enable During these times to automatically turn on Focus Assist at certain intervals.
- Click the During these times tab and select Start time - Start time and End time - Specific end time.
- If you want Focus Assist to turn on during fixed time frames, click a corresponding option (Daily - Daily, Weekends - Weekend, Weekdays - Weekly) from the Repeats menu.
- Set the Focus level by clicking the appropriate option from the drop-down menu (Alarms only or Priority only).
Other Focus Assist settings
To turn on Focus Assist automatically when you open a game, connect a second screen, or use the app in full screen mode:
- Find Settings in the Start menu , click Best match to open settings.
- Select System from the sidebar, then click Focus settings .
- Go to settings and click on it to customize settings accordingly.
- Finally, select the required Focus level from the drop-down menu (Alarms only or Priority only).
If you want Windows 11 to notify you when Focus Assist is turned on automatically, you can check the box next to Show a notification in the action center when focus assist is turned on automatically .
Above is how to use Focus Assist on Windows 11 . Hope the article is useful to you.