I did what Apple wouldn't do!

Backstory here. In 2012, Apple introduced VIP's for mail at WWDC. The premise was simple. You could assign a VIP status to certain contacts. What this did was allow different notifications to be set up for those people. For instance, notifications such as badges could be turned on for VIP's. Maybe you wanted those emails to show up on the lock screen while others remained silenced.

The great thing about this was it could be fluid. In other words, you could turn VIP's on for certain projects. Then when those projects were finished, you could turn that VIP off. Meaning you got those important email notifications during that project.

This was a phenomenal idea. But...it sparked something inside of me. I wasn't the originator of this idea (and I can't remember who I heard talk about it first). If Apple could do VIP's for mail, why can't they do it for messages? I mean that had to be the setup for the mail version, right? See how it works and then bring it to the messages app? Or make it universal for the whole phone. Messages, mail, phone....anything that was communication could be set up the same way.

Well, as stated earlier, that was back in 2012. Here we are 14 years later and no universal VIP's. While they continue to make strides in some areas, in others they are so far behind. It baffles me that we do not have the capability to do this in messages.

Let's face it. Plain and simple. Not all messages are created equally. A message from my wife is more important than a message I may receive from a cousin telling me about his trip to Alaska. But Apple treats both these messages the same. Even worse. You can add messages you may get from your bank, a grocery store or a political candidate to the list.

Sometimes those are important. But very seldom. But what happens is this: you're working on a project. Focusing and trying to get a deadline met. Then "ding" your phone goes off with a text message sound. You glance over and see that its from your cousin. You tap on it and open the conversation. It's an invitation to a birthday party in two weeks. Then you either ignore the text or engage. By the time you get back to work, you're trying to get back into that focus mode you were in and get busy.

The reality is that message could have waited until that evening to get a response. It wasn't something so important that you had to answer it right that minute. But that's what happens most of the time. We get a message and it distracts us and we get sucked into messaging hell.

Since I'm a firm believer that not all messages are created equal, I decided to take action myself. Thanks to Apple's focus modes, I was able to create the system I want. Basically, this means my phone is in a Focus mode all the time. I created one called "Personal". Then, in the "allow notifications" spot, under people I put the contacts that I want to receive notifications from. I have six people. All of them are close family members. That's it. So, if they text me I see it show up on the lock screen. Everyone else that sends me a text is silenced. I see it when I open my phone and open messages (because I also have badges turned off).

This allows me to have my own VIP list and only receive notifications from the people I want to. If I'm expecting an important text message from someone else, I can simply turn the focus mode off so I see that message come through. Mind you, this has never happened for me. I just keep the "Personal Focus" on and see any other messages when I open my phone later in the day.

This isn't the ideal setup of course. The ideal one would be Apple making this part of the system. Until then this will have to do. If you would like to know how this setup is done and the exact steps to create it, hit me up.