I finally set up focus modes properly and it's embarrassing I waited this long.

I’ve had Focus modes for years but mostly treated them like a basic Do Not Disturb button. Recently I actually took the time to set them up around different parts of my day.

During work hours, I removed distracting apps from my home screen and only kept the things I genuinely need. I also silenced most notifications. In the evening, I do the opposite and silence work-related notifications so I’m not constantly thinking about work.

The biggest difference has been realizing how much tiny interruptions were affecting me. Even seeing a notification for a couple of seconds was often enough to pull me away from what I was doing.

What has worked best for me isn’t trying to have more self-control. It’s changing the environment so the distractions aren’t constantly presented to me.

Has anyone else built different phone setups for different parts of the day? What changes made the biggest difference for you?