How to Automatically Enable Do Not Disturb While Reading on Your iPad

The iPad is an incredible device for reading digital books, long-form articles, and academic PDFs. However, its immersive reading experience is easily ruined by a sudden barrage of iMessage notifications, email alerts, or news pop-ups flashing across the top of the screen. Instead of manually swiping into the Control Center to silence your device every time you open a book, you can use the iOS Shortcuts app to automatically trigger Do Not Disturb the moment you launch your favorite reading application.

How to Create the Automation

We will build a Personal Automation that ties the system-wide Do Not Disturb focus mode directly to the opening and closing of a specific app, such as Apple Books or the Kindle app.

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPad.
2. Tap on Automation at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the + (plus) icon in the top right corner to create a new automation.
4. Scroll down the list of triggers and select App.
5. Tap Choose next to the App label.
6. Scroll through your list of installed applications and select your preferred reading app (e.g., Books). Tap Done.
7. Ensure both Is Opened and Is Closed are checked with blue checkmarks.
8. Select Run Immediately at the bottom, and make sure Notify When Run is toggled off so the automation operates silently. Tap Next.

How to Configure the Do Not Disturb Action

Now we must tell the iPad what action to perform when the trigger is activated.

1. Tap New Blank Automation.
2. Tap the Add Action button.
3. In the search bar at the top, type “Set Focus”.
4. Tap the Set Focus action from the search results to add it to your script.
5. The action block will say Turn Do Not Disturb Off. Tap the word Off to change it to On.
6. Tap on the word Off again (it might say ‘until turned off’). Select Ask Each Time or leave it as a default toggle depending on your iOS version. Actually, the best way to handle both opening and closing the app is to use the ‘Toggle’ function if available. If not, you will need to create two separate automations: one for “Is Opened” (Turn Focus On) and one for “Is Closed” (Turn Focus Off).
7. For simplicity, if you create the automation specifically for Is Opened, set the action to Turn Do Not Disturb On. Tap Done.
8. Create a second automation exactly as above, but choose Is Closed as the trigger, and set the action to Turn Do Not Disturb Off.

Your iPad is now a dedicated, distraction-free e-reader. The moment you tap the Books app icon, the device will instantly enter Do Not Disturb mode, suppressing all banners and sounds. The second you swipe up to exit the app and return to the home screen, all your notifications will instantly turn back on.