I hate email.
Who really likes answering emails? You get into work, switch everything on, and right off the bat there’s an inbox full of company mails, check-ins requested, updates from colleagues, reminders for meeting after meeting after meeting…
It’s not a great way to start the day, right?
How to use Slack 101: Back to basics
Slack is pretty popular these days, so I’m not going to spend loads of time on its basic features.
Basic Slack tip #1: The best remote workflow app
If you’re like me, you have a million tabs, browsers, PDFs, and whatever else cluttering your desktop. The last thing you need is another app taking up space.
Fortunately, the Slack desktop app sits nice and discreetly in your taskbar. You get to keep some of the clutter out of your browser tabs, and have one less thing to juggle. It’s there when you need it; out of the way when you don’t.
The mobile app is great if you’re on the move a lot or frequently away from the (home) office. What’s even better is that it has all of the functionality of the desktop version. This isn’t some stripped-down, “lite” edition that only lets you do half the things you need to.
Same connectivity, but mobile.
Basic Slack tip #2: Set your virtual office hours with Slack notifications
For both desktop and mobile apps, Slack lets you customize your notifications settings so you can be available when you want to be available and off-the-clock when you need to be.
When you really need some downtime from work, you can even turn off notifications completely. Other users will be told your notifications are off – and in an emergency, they can always force the message through so you don’t miss any of the important things.
For me, the best thing about using Slack is the ability to auto-set your working hours. So, while you can manually switch to Do-Not-Disturb if you need a few focus hours, you can also set a schedule so Slack notifications are automatically paused outside the specified times.
Basic Slack tip #3: Mastering Slack channel customization & management
Make separate channels for specialized topics, specific teams, or even one dedicated to casual chats among colleagues.
Channels make sure people get the messages they need without having to sift through ones they don’t.
You can manage channels in a few neat ways:
Set custom notifications for each channel. For example, chances are if something has posted in our content creation channel, I need to see it. I don’t, however, need to read every message posted in product feedback in real time.
Star channels (and DMs) to keep track of important conversations. This moves that channel to a special section in your sidebar so it’s easier to monitor.
Mute channels you don’t want updates from but don’t want to leave entirely.
Pin messages to the top of the channel. This is great for posting channel-specific guidelines, reminders for your team, or useful resources.
Basic Slack tip #4: Shoutout to @everyone @here! Just @ me your tag
Even in channels, sometimes you want to loop a person into a conversation or have an announcement everyone should see.
This can be a problem particularly for those working across time zones when not everyone is online at the same time.
@everyone and @channel will notify everyone in the channel, whether they’re online or off, while @here will alert only those in the channel currently online. To grab a specific person’s attention, just @ their username and they’ll be able to join in.
Basic Slack tip #5: Ping Future You a reminder
Slack lets you message yourself. Here you can easily draft messages or leave yourself notes without worrying about losing them, accidentally hitting “send” before you meant to (yep, the whole channel did just see that meme only your best work-buddy understands), or totally forget where you wrote that note you need. Don’t judge. It happens.
It’s never been simpler to talk to Future You and let them know important details they need to know.
Basic Slack tip #6: Don’t just react, emote!
Text convos can seem a little dry and impersonal – until you add emojis. Emojis make everything fun – including business documents.
Obviously, there’s the standard ability to add emojis to the end of a message, but Slack takes it one step further.
When you highlight a message, a taskbar will pop up allowing you to react to, reply to, share, or save the message. Not only does this offer you a quick, seamless way to acknowledge communication, it removes the clutter of the entire team replying with variations of “OK.”
Basic Slack tip #7: Manage your data like a boss
So, you remember that URL your colleague posted a few days ago in the team channel with all those resources on exactly the project you’re working on?
Of course you don’t because you didn’t think to bookmark it at the time.
Don’t worry. Pop into message search and type your colleague’s name, when the message was sent, or any other part of the conversation you remember, and you can search through all your message history to find what you need.
Click on the search bar at the top of your Slack workspace and choose what you want to look for (messages, files, channels, or people) and then where or who you’re looking for, and Slack will show you every item that matches those parameters.
Plus, there’s a specific section for threads you’re part of, so you can always scroll back through that to get that super valuable URL, too.
PLUS plus – export your workspace data and download a copy of all messages, links, and files shared in your workspace’s public channels.
Basic Slack tip #8: Knowledge increases by sharing, not saving
Collaboration is all about sharing – and Slack lets you embrace all those community-type vibes.
Send files, screenshots, videos – whatever you need to share with your team is as simple as attaching it to a message.
What’s the big deal, right? Every app can do that.
Slack file sharing is a little bit different, though. Once you upload a file to a public channel, everyone in that channel can access it. They (and you) can also create external links to share with people outside the workspace when needed.