Guided Access: A Hidden Productivity Trick for iPad Users
Guided Access: A Hidden Productivity Trick for iPad Users
I've been using Guided Access for 4 years. Here's what I found out last week.
In 2018, Toys “R” Us, my favorite childhood destination, went bankrupt.
2018 was also when I started using Guided Access on my phone.
Until last week, I never realized the full potential of Guided Access (I mainly used it to make sure my little cousins wouldn’t dial 911).
I tested it out while reading a play for my literature class.
And it was incredible (Guided Access, not the play).
Guided Access Explained
As Apple states on their website, “Guided Access limits your device to a single app.”
The beauty of Guided Access is the “difficulty” of effort it takes to exit the app.
With my settings, here’s what you’d have to do if you want to exit an app with Guided Access enabled:
Triple-click the home button
Deselect Guided Access
Enter in a password
That may not seem like much. And it isn’t.
After all, completing all three tasks takes 10 seconds at most (quick note: don’t worry if you’re confused about where these tasks came from - I’ll explain how to use Guided Access further down).
The key part is that you’ll have to add effort in order to exit your app.
I have a common bad habit when I’m working on my iPad: whenever there’s a tough task for me to do, I’ll swipe out of the app I’m working in and go to a different one.
Guided Access helps me solve the issue: with more resistance associated with leaving the app I’m working on, I’m less likely to do so.
In turn, that leads to less procrastination (something I assume we all want).
How To Enable Guided Access
Go Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access.
Tap the toggle to enable Guided Access, and you should be good to go.
Under Password Settings, I have Face ID enabled. I’ve also enabled the Accessibility Shortcut feature, which lets you triple-click the top button to access Accessibility Shortcut settings.
A Quick Request
Hey there! - sorry to interrupt your reading. I have a quick poll in case you aren’t too busy:
Back to the post ⬇️
How To Start Guided Access
Open the app you want to use (in this example, let’s use Notes).
Triple-click the home button to pull up the accessibility menu.
Select Guided Access.
A starting page should open up:
Guided Access does offer you the ability to circle certain areas of the screen to disable.
If you’re using this in Safari, you could circle the top area to prevent you from leaving your work tab.
Guided Access also has a few options for users:
Top Button: turns the top button on/off
Volume Buttons: turns volume buttons on/off
Motion: enables motion responses (if turned off, motion such as screen rotation won’t occur)
Keyboards: turns off the keyboard
Touch: enables screen touches (if turned off, you won’t be able to use your screen)
Time Limit: lets you choose a time limit for your Guided Access session (could be useful as a Pomodoro timer)
Click “Start” whenever you’re ready.
How To End Guided Access
Here’s how you can end your Guided Access session:
Triple-click the top button
Deselect Guided Access
Depending on your settings, a password prompt might show up. Enter your password.
You’ll reach a page similar to the starting page, but instead of “Cancel” and “Start” at the top, you have “End” and “Resume”
To end the Guided Access session, tap “End”
Warning: Guided Access Has a Major Problem
Unfortunately, there’s one major issue that could be a deal-breaker for some:
You cannot multi-task with Guided Access enabled
When I found out about this, I was disappointed. Guided Access appeared to be this ultra-powerful tool to fight procrastination, but the limitations it has diminishes its potential.
Guided Access is still helpful - I can use it when reading, writing, taking notes during a lecture, and in similar circumstances.
Unfortunately, though, I won’t be able to use it in other cases, such as taking notes from my math textbook, writing certain Overoptimize posts, working on debate speeches, etc.
Final Thoughts
That’s basically everything you need to know about Guided Access. Despite its limitations with multi-tasking, I think it’s still a pretty powerful feature when using individual apps.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks for reading!
Adi