Turn off all phone notifications between certain times

Windows Phones have a useful feature called Quiet Hours. This lets you turn off all app notifications, including calls and messages, for times when you may be busy. You can turn this feature on and off by swiping down from the top of your screen, tapping Expand at the top right, then tapping the Quiet Hours tile. If you use this often, you can schedule it to turn on and off between specific times on certain days.

To set this, open the Cortana app, tap the three lines at the top right, Notebook, then Quiet Hours. Here, turn on the ‘Automatic rules’ slider, then set the Start and End times by tapping those buttons. To set which days you want this, tap the Repeats button, then tick to select the days of the week.

There’s an easy way to receive calls and messages from specific people even when your phone is set to Quiet Hours. To set this, scroll down to the ‘Break-though rules’ section, tap ‘Edit break-through list’, tap the ‘+’ icon at the bottom, then select the first person from your contacts list you want to add. Repeat to add more people, then go back when you’re done.

You’ll now see two sections - Calls and Texts (see screenshot). The former lets you allow calls from people you’ve added to your list and calls made in quick succession (which may be urgent). Similarly, you can choose to get text messages from people in your list and choose to send everyone else an automatic reply saying that you’re busy.