Microsoft has recently added the ability to have "Focus" sessions to their Windows 11 operating system. When enabled, these effectively shut out the noise of emails and other notifications for a set amount of time to allow you to fully focus on a specific task. This month's HowTo explores this feature.
Step 1: At a basic level, enabling Focus mode is very straightforward. Click the clock to open the calendar and notification sidebar, then just click "Focus" (noting you can set the focus duration on the left).
Step 2: Once clicked, a countdown timer will appear on the screen letting you know how much longer your focus session has to run. Note that, by default, breaks are built into the time requested. When this mode is active, all notifications should be muted. The apps on the taskbar won't alert you abuot new activity (New Teams messages, new emails etc). That doesn't mean you can't choose to switch to these apps and actively check for these things, just that you won't be notified that they have happened. Once the focus session has ended, notification settings will return to normal.
Step 3: That's pretty much all there is to it, but it's worth pointing out where the settings are for this feature so you can adjust it to your requirements. To get at the settings page, open the search panel and start typing "Focus Settings" until the option appears to select.
Step 4: Here you will find the settings for focus mode, as well as another way you can enable it. By default, all the options are enabled, but you can disable them as required if you only want certain distractions diabled.