Before launching Slack, founder Stuart Butterfield told his team that “our job is to build something genuinely useful, something which really does make people’s working lives simpler, more pleasant and more productive.”
It’s not that Slack can’t do that—but check your own experience: does Slack feel like it’s making your life simpler and more pleasant?
There are a few basic settings you can set to move from Slack puppet to Slack architect. Tal Raviv shared these master tips to make Slack work for you, not the other way around.
Turn off notifications: Check Slack on your schedule
Hide read channels: Pay attention only what’s relevant
Create Slack sections: Prioritize what gets your attention
Set Slack Reminders: Create airtight systems
Bonus—Delete Slack from your phone: Be wherever you actually are
1. Turn off notifications
Check Slack on your schedule, not whenever other people want your attention.
If you’re afraid of not being reachable, remember: not being on Slack is not the same as not being available. You are just raising the bar for other people getting your attention when you are focused elsewhere. Tell key stakeholders how they can reach you if they want a faster response.
“Hey, I’m working on focusing on highest-impact priorities. I’ll be checking Slack regularly, but if you want a response to something urgent faster than you’re getting it from me, here’s my phone number–call me.”
Then, design your calendar—when actually makes sense for you to check Slack? Experiment with that for a few days.
2. Hide read channels
This helps highlight the signal from the noise.
3. Create Slack sections (ordered intentionally)
Prioritize which Slack threads you want to focus on. This will dramatically reduce the attention overload when you sign in to Slack.
Create sections, then Drag and Drop conversations into those sections.
4. Set Slack Reminders
High performing teams and terrific relationships share one crucial trait: people feel like they can rely on each other.
We can help set the expectation for that by following up with people at agreed-upon times, though if we don’t have an agreed-upon time, first we need to set that.
My two favorite words for accelerating a team’s progress are “By When?” We can say it a little more kindly, depending on the context: “By when works for you to get that to me?”
When someone says they’ll do something, set a reminder in Slack to check in with them by the expected time. You can set it and forget it–and then enjoy the accountability that builds over time in your team.
5. Delete the app
Slack may be extraordinarily helpful, though for most (but not all) people, there is rarely a time when you want to be working through Slack but can’t be in front of your computer.
If you find yourself checking Slack compulsively, make it harder to do so by removing the app from your phone. Once you’ve shared with key stakeholders other ways of contacting you, you can let go of any fears of missing out on any time-sensitive emergencies.
If deleting the app feels radical, that’s a great sign to try it.
Don’t commit to this forever—just set a check-in with yourself for 3 days from now, run the experiment, and see what you notice.
Turn off notifications: Check Slack on your schedule
Hide read channels: Pay attention only what’s relevant
Create Slack sections: Prioritize what gets your attention
Set Slack Reminders: Create airtight systems
Bonus—Delete Slack from your phone: Be wherever you actually are