With engaging content only a click away and notifications popping up, staying focused can be a challenge. If you find your attention drifting on your PC, learn how I created the ultimate “Do Not Disturb” setup in Windows with a few simple tweaks to my setup.
Content
- Manage Notifications
- Take Advantage of Focus Assist in Windows
- Configure Taskbar to Remove Distractions
- Disable System Sounds
- Block Distracting Online Content
Manage Notifications
I don’t recommend disabling notifications completely for a Windows do not disturb setup, as many are necessary to keep up with things. However, you should tweak them to avoid unnecessary notifications. In Windows Settings, go to System -> Notifications to find all notifications-related settings.
First, disable notifications for any apps that aren’t critical. I usually disable them for apps that just tell you they are still working from the system tray or notify you that you have used a function, like taking a screenshot.
You can also further configure notifications individually to remove banners and sounds or manage their priority in the notification center. I prefer disabling banners for non-urgent notifications. Sound alerts will sufficiently notify me, and I can review them later in the notification center.
Do not disturb is another handy feature when you don’t want any notifications on Windows at all. When enabled, it will send all notifications directly to the notification center, allowing you to look at them when free. You can also enable Do not disturb automatically, based on different triggers, like time, full-screen apps, or games.
Take Advantage of Focus Assist in Windows
When you don’t want any distractions at all, the Windows Focus Assist feature takes notification blocking to the next level. When enabled, it will turn on Windows’s Do not disturb mode and disable notification badges and app flashing on the taskbar for a specific period.
Go to System -> Focus in the Windows Settings to open focus assist settings. To easily turn on a focus session, click on the notifications center icon in the taskbar, and toggle on Focus.
It uses the Pomodoro timer technique of 30-minute sessions with 25 minutes of work and a 5-minute break. You can create sessions of up to 240 minutes, with breaks added automatically.
Configure Taskbar to Remove Distractions
Apart from the app being used, the taskbar is where all the action happens, like notifications, secondary opened apps, search, and even news. If you want to eliminate distractions, tweaking the taskbar is a given.
Right-click on the taskbar, and select Taskbar settings to open all options related to the taskbar.
Disable Widgets, as even accidentally hovering over it opens news and other distracting content. I also prefer keeping the Task view disabled, as I use the Win + Tab shortcut, but that’s optional.
Scroll down and open the Taskbar behaviors section to disable app badges and flashing permanently. More importantly, enable the Automatically hide the taskbar option. This will hide the taskbar and only reveal it when you hover over it, minimizing distractions (also freeing up some screen real estate).
Disable System Sounds
I find Windows system sounds very distracting, especially when they happen without a visual cue, forcing me to look for the cause. If you are like me, you may want to disable some of the system sounds that are distracting, without providing much value.
In Windows Settings, go to System -> Sound, and click on More sound settings.
Open the Sound tab to see the list of all default Windows sounds and the corresponding actions.
To disable sound for an action, select the action and None from the list of sounds at the bottom. Calendar Reminder, Exclamation, and Instant Message Notification are some of the sounds I prefer to disable.
If you find Windows sounds more annoying than distracting, you may want to install new Windows sound schemes.
Block Distracting Online Content
Most of the big distractions come from engaging online content, like social media websites and streaming services. If you often end up spending hours of your time on such websites when you should be focusing on work, you might need some Do Not Disturb help on Windows.
The best method I’ve found to overcome this is to limit daily time spent on such websites. With limited time, if I visit a site during work, I have less time during breaks. The StayFocusd Chrome extension is very reliable for this. It’s highly customizable and works on any Chromium-based browser, like Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Brave.
After installation, the extension will open its Options page to be configured first. You can add websites to add a timer to them in the Blocked Sites section. The websites use the same timer. If you want separate timers for different types of websites, click on Add group.
Use the Active Days, Active Hours, and Daily Reset Time tabs to decide when the websites will be tracked and blocked.
The more interesting features are Require Challenge and Nuclear Option. The Require Challenge option will force you to complete a difficult challenge if you try to change the extension settings to cheat.
The Nuclear Option will block websites for a specific time with no way to undo the block, including specific content, like multimedia, images, forms, and logins. Overall, this extension will help you limit or block online distracting content, while making it difficult to undo the restrictions.
Combined, these tweaks will eliminate all common distractions that can disrupt your focus. Apart from these tweaks, using Windows keyboard shortcuts also helps my Do Not Disturb setup. As a writer, I can focus on typing without worrying about interacting with UI elements or even reaching for the mouse.
Image credit: Freepik. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
Karrar Haider –
Staff Writer
Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.
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