The purpose of this SOP is to give clear guidance on how to manage notification settings and focus modes on both phones and laptops. Proper use of notifications and focus settings helps limit distractions, improve concentration, and make sure important alerts are not missed.
This SOP applies to all staff who use company-issued or personal devices for work. It explains how to set up notifications, use focus modes during working hours, and create the right balance between being available and having uninterrupted time for work.
By following these steps, staff will be able to:
- Limit interruptions during deep work and meetings
- Make sure important notifications are not overlooked
- Keep a consistent standard across devices
- Support a calmer and more focused work environment
Portal Notifications
PURPOSE: This SOP outlines the steps to configure notification settings in the InvestorKit portal to manage alerts and minimise distractions while ensuring you receive important updates.
- Log in to your portal via investorkit.app
- Go to your profile and select Notifications.
- Select your notification preferences:
Set up a Focus on Mac
Focus helps you stay on task by minimising distractions. You can use it to silence all notifications or allow only specific ones, such as messages from colleagues working on an urgent project. You can also let contacts know you've silenced notifications so they understand you're busy.
If Apple Intelligence* is turned on, you can use the Reduce Interruptions Focus, which filters and shows only your most important notifications. See Use the Reduce Interruptions Focus.
Tip: Need to quickly silence all notifications? Turn on the Do Not Disturb Focus in Control Center.
Focus Mode on MAC
PURPOSE: This procedure outlines the steps to set up and manage Focus modes on Mac to reduce distractions and improve productivity.
1. Setting up a Focus
- Open System Settings app on your Mac.
- Select Focus in the sidebar (scroll down if needed).
- Click Add Focus (+), then choose from the following options:
- Pre-built Focus: Select Work, Personal, or Gaming.
- Custom Focus: Click Custom, enter a name, select colour and icon (up to 10 custom modes allowed).
- Configure Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing:When enabled, allows important notifications while silencing less important ones.Note: This setting is always on for Reduce Interruptions Focus and cannot be turned off.
- Complete your setup by configuring any of these additional settings:
- Notification preferences (see Section 2)
- Automatic scheduling (see Section 3)
- App behaviour customisation (see Section 4)
Note: When "Share Across Devices" is enabled, Focus settings sync to all your Apple devices.
2. Configuring Notifications
Control which notifications appear when your Focus is active:
- Open System Settings > Focus.
- Select your Focus mode.
- Click Allowed People and choose from these options:
- Allow specific contacts: Select "Allow Some People" and add desired contacts.
- Silence specific contacts: Select "Silence Some People" and add contacts to silence.
- Manage call notifications: Configure which calls can break through your Focus.
- Allow repeated calls: Enable to receive notifications for repeated calls (within 3 minutes).
- Click Allowed Apps and configure:
- Allow specific apps: Select "Allow Some Apps" and add desired applications.
- Silence specific apps: Select "Silence Some Apps" and add applications to silence.
- Time-sensitive notifications: Enable to receive urgent notifications regardless of other settings.
3. Scheduling Focus Modes
Set your Focus to activate automatically based on time, location, or app usage:
- Open System Settings > Focus.
- Select your Focus mode.
- Go to Set a Schedule and click Add Schedule.
- Choose one of the following schedule types:
- Time-based: Set specific hours and days for automatic activation.
- Location-based: Activate when arriving at or leaving specific locations (requires Location Services).
- App-based: Activate when opening specific applications.
4. Customising Behaviour
Create Focus filters to control how specific apps behave during Focus mode:
- Open System Settings > Focus.
- Select your Focus mode.
- Go to Focus Filters and click Add Filter.
- Choose an app to customise:
- Calendar: Select which calendars to display during this Focus.
- Mail: Select which email accounts to show during this Focus.
- Messages: Filter messages by people list.
- Safari: Select specific Tab Groups to show during this Focus.
To modify or remove a Focus Filter: Open System Settings > Focus > [Your Focus] > [Your Filter], then toggle the filter on/off or click Delete App Filter.
5. Troubleshooting
If Focus mode isn't working as expected:
- Ensure all settings are properly configured
- Check that Share Across Devices is enabled if you want syncing between devices
- Verify that Time Sensitive notifications are properly configured for critical apps
- Restart your device if settings aren't taking effect
6. Quick Access
For immediate Focus activation, click the Control Center icon in the menu bar, then select Focus and choose your desired mode.
Focus Mode on Google Pixel Phones
Focus Mode on Google Pixel phones is as close to the "default" implementation as you'll find. Non-Samsung Android devices will be similar.
- First, open the Settings app and go to "Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls."
- Tap "Focus Mode."
- Select all the apps you'd like to pause when Focus Mode is enabled.
- You can turn it on immediately by selecting "Turn On Now," or create a schedule for it to run automatically by tapping "Set a Schedule."
It's more handy to add a "Focus Mode" tile to the notification panel so you can quickly toggle it on without diving through the Settings menus.
Focus Mode on Samsung Galaxy Phones
Focus Mode on Samsung Galaxy devices is quite a bit different than Pixel phones. You can create multiple Focus Modes, and instead of choosing the apps to block, you will choose the apps to allow.
- First, swipe down once from the top of the screen and tap the gear icon to open the Settings.
- Scroll down and select "Modes and Routines."
- Select one of the pre-made modes or tap "Add Mode."
- If you're making a new Mode, give it a name and icon.
- To restrict apps during the mode, toggle on "Restrict App Usage."
- Now select all the apps you want to be able to use and receive notifications from. Everything else will be blocked.
- You can tap "Turn On" to enable it right away or select "Turn On Automatically" to create some conditions.
- Samsung also allows you to enable Do Not Disturb mode alongside it, change some system settings, and customise the wallpaper when the mode is running.
