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Focus Assist

This is the only Focus Assist I needSince I started working remotely, one of my favorite tools for keeping in contact with my co-workers has been Slack. This isn’t a post about how nice Slack is to use, but rather how Windows kept me from hearing notifications when someone would send me a message. By default, Windows 10 will notify me when someone sends a message either directly to me or to a group channel I belong to by producing a sound like someone is knocking on a door. This is different than other notifications for emails and other instant messaging tools, so I know when I hear the “knock” it’s from Slack.


While I’m working from home I may move around from room to room looking for a comfortable spot to park for a while. I have a main office with a desk, wide screen monitor, docking station, and keyboard, but when I move to another room I undock my laptop to take it with me. This action somehow enables Focus Assist, which turns off my notifications. Focus Assist is designed to allow you to work without interruptions, but I like being interrupted...sometimes.

If this is something you’ve experienced and would like to turn your notifications back on, click...

  • Start
  • Settings
  • System
  • Focus assist
  • Off

On the other hand, if you are tired of notifications bothering you while you’re trying to focus you may want to turn Focus Assist on. In this case, you can click...

  • Start
  • Settings
  • System
  • Focus assist
  • Priority Only or Alarm Only

It is a hassle to check this settings every time I go from docked to undocked, since I do it so frequently. To permanently change Focus Assist so that it doesn’t change when I move around I set all the Automatic rules farther down the page to “Off”. Now whenever I wander around my house I hear notifications whenever someone sends me a message.

To see a list of programs where you can change your notification settings, click...

  • Start
  • Settings
  • System
  • Notifications and Actions

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