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Take Control of Focus - Glenn Fleishman

By Glenn Fleishman

Release Date: 2026-03-25

Genre: Operating Systems

(0 ratings)
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Filter out interruptions from your Apple devices
Version 1.0, published March 25, 2026
Cut through the buzzes, rings, banners, and general attention-grabbing chaos to win the war for your attention. This book teaches you how to silence notifications, calls, and alerts across all your Apple devices using the Focus feature by customizing Focus modes and settings. Do Not Disturb will seem serene like never before.
Appleā€™s Focus feature promises to silence distractions so you can work, drive, sleep, play games, or just stare at the wall in peace. But Focus is also one of Appleā€™s most confusingly layered features, with options scattered across devices, apps, and system settings that interact in ways that arenā€™t always obvious. This book brings Focus intoā€¦focus.
Author Glenn Fleishman walks you through every aspect of Focus, from the basics of activating and deactivating Focus modes to the deep customization options that let you control exactly which people, apps, and alerts can break through your self-imposed isolationā€”and which canā€™t. Youā€™ll learn how preset modes like Do Not Disturb, Sleep, and Driving workā€”and how to customize them or even create custom modes tailored to your routine.
Beyond the Focus feature, youā€™ll get to understand how Apple manages audible alerts with Silent mode, where to set bypasses so emergency contacts and people important to you can always reach you by calling, and what exactly sharing your Focus state with others means. The book opens with practical case studies to help you understand how Focus can suit youā€”and how it might be overkill.
Whether you want to sleep more soundly, work without interruption, read a few pages of a goshdarned book without a bleep from your devices, or just stop your phone from buzzing during dinner, this book gives you the understanding and step-by-step instructions to shape and filter Focus and related attention-minimizing features to your needs.
The book includes insight from a credentialed ADHD/executive function coach on best practices for Focus, too.
This book helps you:
ā€¢ Understand how Focus interacts with other attention systems like Silent mode, Notifications settings, haptic feedback, and visual alerts.
ā€¢ Activate and manage Focus modes on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
ā€¢ Understand which Focus modes are triggered by particular actions, like connecting to CarPlay or starting a workout in the Fitness app.
ā€¢ Create scheduled times, pick locations, and choose apps that can activate Focus modes for you automatically.
ā€¢ Control exactly which people and apps can bypass a Focus mode to notify you of something important.
ā€¢ Customize preset modes like Do Not Disturb, Sleep, Driving, Fitness, and Gaming, or create your own.
ā€¢ Sync Focus states across devices (or not).
ā€¢ Use Focus Filters to show or hide accounts or other elements in Calendar, Mail, Safari, and other apps when a Focus mode is active.
ā€¢ Integrate Focus with Shortcuts to automate mode changes, trigger actions when modes activate, and build more complex workflows.
ā€¢ Use Sleep mode effectively with the Health appā€™s sleep schedule, Apple Watch sleep tracking, and Wind Down notifications.
ā€¢ Evaluate Apple Intelligenceā€™s Reduce Interruptions, understanding what it can and canā€™t doā€”and what Apple wonā€™t tell you about how it works.
ā€¢ Share your Focus status via Messages and other apps, and manage per-contact visibility and the Notify Anyway workflow.

Take Control of Focus - Glenn Fleishman

By Glenn Fleishman

Release Date: 2026-03-25

Genre: Operating Systems

(0 ratings)
Read Download
Filter out interruptions from your Apple devices
Version 1.0, published March 25, 2026
Cut through the buzzes, rings, banners, and general attention-grabbing chaos to win the war for your attention. This book teaches you how to silence notifications, calls, and alerts across all your Apple devices using the Focus feature by customizing Focus modes and settings. Do Not Disturb will seem serene like never before.
Appleā€™s Focus feature promises to silence distractions so you can work, drive, sleep, play games, or just stare at the wall in peace. But Focus is also one of Appleā€™s most confusingly layered features, with options scattered across devices, apps, and system settings that interact in ways that arenā€™t always obvious. This book brings Focus intoā€¦focus.
Author Glenn Fleishman walks you through every aspect of Focus, from the basics of activating and deactivating Focus modes to the deep customization options that let you control exactly which people, apps, and alerts can break through your self-imposed isolationā€”and which canā€™t. Youā€™ll learn how preset modes like Do Not Disturb, Sleep, and Driving workā€”and how to customize them or even create custom modes tailored to your routine.
Beyond the Focus feature, youā€™ll get to understand how Apple manages audible alerts with Silent mode, where to set bypasses so emergency contacts and people important to you can always reach you by calling, and what exactly sharing your Focus state with others means. The book opens with practical case studies to help you understand how Focus can suit youā€”and how it might be overkill.
Whether you want to sleep more soundly, work without interruption, read a few pages of a goshdarned book without a bleep from your devices, or just stop your phone from buzzing during dinner, this book gives you the understanding and step-by-step instructions to shape and filter Focus and related attention-minimizing features to your needs.
The book includes insight from a credentialed ADHD/executive function coach on best practices for Focus, too.
This book helps you:
ā€¢ Understand how Focus interacts with other attention systems like Silent mode, Notifications settings, haptic feedback, and visual alerts.
ā€¢ Activate and manage Focus modes on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
ā€¢ Understand which Focus modes are triggered by particular actions, like connecting to CarPlay or starting a workout in the Fitness app.
ā€¢ Create scheduled times, pick locations, and choose apps that can activate Focus modes for you automatically.
ā€¢ Control exactly which people and apps can bypass a Focus mode to notify you of something important.
ā€¢ Customize preset modes like Do Not Disturb, Sleep, Driving, Fitness, and Gaming, or create your own.
ā€¢ Sync Focus states across devices (or not).
ā€¢ Use Focus Filters to show or hide accounts or other elements in Calendar, Mail, Safari, and other apps when a Focus mode is active.
ā€¢ Integrate Focus with Shortcuts to automate mode changes, trigger actions when modes activate, and build more complex workflows.
ā€¢ Use Sleep mode effectively with the Health appā€™s sleep schedule, Apple Watch sleep tracking, and Wind Down notifications.
ā€¢ Evaluate Apple Intelligenceā€™s Reduce Interruptions, understanding what it can and canā€™t doā€”and what Apple wonā€™t tell you about how it works.
ā€¢ Share your Focus status via Messages and other apps, and manage per-contact visibility and the Notify Anyway workflow.

More by Glenn Fleishman

Take Control of Wi-Fi Networking and Security

Take Control of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26

Take Control of Securing Your Apple Devices

Take Control of Notes, Second Edition

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Take Control of Apple TV, Fifth Edition

Take Control of Zoom, Third Edition

Take Control of Your Apple Account, Second Edition

Take Control of Calendar and Reminders, Sixth Edition

Take Control of Apple Wallet

Take Control of FaceTime and Messages, Fourth Edition

iPhone and iPad Basics, Second Edition

Six Centuries of Type & Printing

Take Control of Apple Screen and File Sharing

Take Control of Focus

Take Control of Untangling Connections, Third Edition

Keep Safe Using Mobile Tech, Second Edition

Take Control of Find My and AirTags, Fourth Edition

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