Apple Focus Modes
This is by far the best Apple feature I have ever used. Having focus time set up has really helped me maintain a healthy work-life balance and manage notification fatigue. I have always been the type of person who did not like to see notification badges and felt like I had to clear each notification in every app on my device. It was until Covid that the stress and anxiety got to me because of the bombardment of constant notifications and getting overwhelmed.
I found out about focus modes through Apple's sleep mode when settings alarms to wake up. I realized that during sleep mode I could silence notifications and only allow notifications for select contacts and certain apps. When I realized I could do something like this when I wasn't going to sleep, I started to configure other focus modes after sleep mode was turned off. This was a life changer and life saver. I turned off all notifications for almost all my apps and only left notifications turned on for certain contacts and apps. I have never looked back after I set this up. I keep a focus mode on during the day until sleep mode is activated. For the apps that I have turned off notifications for, I only check them when I'm ready and able to.
Having these focus modes has really changed my life and I honestly don't know what I would do without it. The constant notifications and having an alert go off every minute is gone. I strongly encourage everyone to give it a try if you find yourself checking your phone because of so many notifications.
Here are some links on how to set up sleep mode and focus modes if you have an Apple device.