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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Windows 11 Focus Sessions consolidate key productivity tools.
• It replaces multiple apps for timers, tasks, and habit tracking.
• The tool snoozes notifications when enabled.

I get a lot done on my computer, but the same productivity tool also provides distractions galore. When work and recreation are both digital, it’s hard to draw the line and stay focused on work. That issue explains why I spent time chasing productivity hacks, relying on to-do lists, Pomodoro timers, browser extensions that filtered known distractions, and other purpose-built tools, all while listening to music to drown out background noise.

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However, this complex approach seems unnecessary now, since Microsoft baked a simple tool, known as Focus Mode, into the Windows 11 Clock app that kills many birds with one stone. The feature rolled out in September 2022, and I’ve been using it for a few years. Focus Mode lives up to its name, does what I need, and packs enough granular control to satisfy my itch to customize. The mode’s not perfect, though, and there’s a good reason for that too.

Better late to start than never

I am most productive in a flow state of focus, where the passage of time fades into the background and hitting milestone after milestone takes precedence. However, getting to a flow state is never easy, and even this article wasn’t written in one go. Social media and content hubs like YouTube and TikTok have heightened attention deprivation, making long tasks clinically unappealing. If your next dopamine spike is a 15-second video away, working a 30-minute stint seems like a chore.

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I’ve been in these shoes. However, the direction of my journey changed when Windows 11 picked up two features that work in tandem to eliminate disruptions: Do Not Disturb and Focus Sessions. I started with small 10-minute focus sessions spaced by liberal five-minute breaks, and I’ve now worked my way up to productive 30-minute sessions. When working on the PC, Focus Sessions, tucked into the Clock app, can really help.

The feature runs a countdown timer of your desired duration, and snoozes notifications across the OS using Do Not Disturb, and isn’t restricted to just system apps. The tool also hides notifications from active apps in the taskbar, as well as flashing icons like those used for the Run dialog seeking administrator permissions. This seemingly trivial detail eliminates everything from browser notifications from random websites you accidentally allowed to send notifications from progressive web apps running in the background. Clock notifies you when focus sessions or breaks end, and missed notifications wait patiently for you in the tray.

You can start a session using the Clock app and selecting Focus Session in the left-hand sidebar. The homepage packs a four-module grid for focus periods, a daily progress tracker, and integrations with Microsoft Tasks and Spotify.

Replacing multiple standalone tools

When I started using this feature, it straightaway replaced the Pomodoro timer on my desk, because I could customize the duration of focus sessions and breaks with just a few clicks on Windows. Importantly, the tool took fewer clicks than the tabletop timer, which only offered fast, tilt-to-activate presets for five-minute, 10-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute timers, and setting custom durations involved fiddling with three simplistic buttons.

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I still use the tabletop model for tasks that don’t require the PC. However, Microsoft’s tool includes a handy overlay mode that shows a persistent, repositionable, and resizeable window with the time remaining. I prefer switching to the dynamic icon shaped like a potted plant that grows larger leaves over time, so I’m not obsessively checking the minutes. Importantly, the overlay retains the essential controls to pause sessions, adjust durations, and start new ones.

The Tasks integration replaced sticky notes that dotted my monitor bezel. Meanwhile, Spotify starting as soon as I kick off a focus session helps by providing familiar music that drowns out ambient disturbances. The daily progress tracker is incredibly customizable too, and now I don’t need a dedicated habit tracker to log work hours and streaks. The Windows 11 Clock lets me set custom daily goals, ensuring weekends don’t break my streak and worsen Monday morning blues.

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I can also set custom reset times for gamified progress and attention tracking. Microsoft documentation says data about your streaks and progress is stored on the device and deleted every 90 days. This capability is unlike several dedicated habit-tracking and planning apps, which store your data on their servers for longer, often even after you request account deletion. Since this Windows tool is task-agnostic, customization extends to whitelisted apps. They can still push notifications even during sessions, once configured correctly under Settings > System > Notifications > Set priority notifications.

Experiences and minor quips

Additional customization options include alert tones for focus modes and breaks and app theming like other system utilities. These capabilities make for a well-rounded focus tool that serves users regardless of their requirements, as long as they use Windows. However, I was puzzled to find most Focus Mode settings under Settings > System > Focus, while DND settings remained hidden in a separate menu. Consolidation leaves room for improvement here, but Microsoft perhaps took this route so you can use Do Not Disturb without activating a Focus Session to get there.

Since this is a system app, it doesn’t need elevated permissions to run or track your activity. At its heart, it’s a simple timer that works no matter what you’re doing on the PC. If anything, I’d only ask for two improvements. First, support for changing the focus duration and other Focus Session settings during a session. This program would also benefit from integration with any music player/streaming service you’ve got installed, because I haven’t touched the Spotify option since I canceled and switched to Apple Music for higher-resolution streaming.

A fine addition to your daily routine

If you’re expecting the Microsoft Clock app to fix your productivity woes, I bring bad news: it won’t. Like the average kitchen timer, this feature places the onus on your self-control to stay focused since it cannot include program-specific aids like distraction-blocking browser extensions that’d help people like me who work online. 

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For me, the feature proved more helpful than a super-detailed project manager demanding minute-by-minute updates, and easier to use than a physical to-do list paired with a kitchen timer that hogs more desk space. At the very least, I’m hoping this tool does something similar for you.