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How to stay focused on your Mac

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To stay focused on a Mac or MacBook, turn on Do Not Disturb, switch off the notifications you don’t need, work in one full-screen window, and keep your phone in another room. For your hardest work, like studying for an exam, turn the internet off until a timer ends, so there’s nothing to check.

Why it’s so hard to focus on a Mac

Your Mac is where you work, and also where every distraction lives. In Gloria Mark’s studies, people stayed on one screen for about 47 seconds on average before switching.[1] Every alert, tab and “quick check” pulls you away. The fix is to remove as many of them as you can before you start.

7 steps to stay focused on your Mac

  1. Turn on Do Not Disturb. Click Control Center in the menu bar, click Focus, then Do Not Disturb. To pick which people and apps can still reach you, open System Settings and click Focus.
  2. Turn off notifications you don’t need. Open System Settings, click Notifications, click an app, and turn off Allow notifications. Start with chat, social and news apps.
  3. Use one window, full screen. Click the green button at the top left of a window. Everything else disappears.
  4. Close the tabs you aren’t using. Bookmark them if you’re scared to lose them.
  5. Put your phone in another room. In one study, just having a phone on the desk, even switched off, lowered scores on thinking tests.[2]
  6. Block the sites that pull you in. Screen Time can block Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and others for free. See how to block websites on a Mac.
  7. Go fully offline for your hardest work. Pick a time and turn the internet off until it ends. Vow does this from 5 minutes to 24 hours, and quitting or restarting won’t end it early.

For students: SAT, JEE, NEET, UPSC and finals

When you’re studying for a big exam, “just one video” is the biggest thief of time. It costs focus too. In one study, students who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test, and so did students sitting near them.[3]

Doesn’t Focus mode do this already?

No. Focus mode hides notifications, but the internet stays on. YouTube, Instagram and the news are still one click away. Focus mode helps with interruptions from others. A blocker helps with interruptions you start yourself.

For ADHD-specific tips, see ADHD and focus on a Mac.

Questions

How do I stay focused on my Mac?

Turn on Do Not Disturb, turn off notifications you don’t need, work in one full-screen window, and put your phone in another room. For your hardest work, turn the internet off until a timer ends.

Does Focus mode on Mac block websites?

No. Focus mode hides notifications, but the internet stays on. To block websites, use Screen Time or a blocker. To block everything, turn off the internet with Vow.

How can I study on my MacBook without distractions?

Download what you need first, then go offline for one study block, like 2 hours. A Vow schedule can start the block at the same time every day.

Try Vow free

Vow is a Mac app that turns off your internet and keeps it off until your timer ends, from 5 minutes to 24 hours. Try 3 full sessions free, then pay $9.99 once. Requires macOS 26 or later on Apple Silicon.

Buy Vow · $9.99 Try 3 sessions free

Sources

  1. Mark, G. (2023). Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity. Hanover Square Press. Summary in: University of California, “How to sharpen your attention and meet your goals in 2024”. universityofcalifornia.edu
  2. Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: The mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154. doi.org/10.1086/691462
  3. Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62, 24–31. doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.003