Slack can be customized so you can achieve a balance between your workday and when you’re off-the-clock. This guide will help you tailor your Slack notifications so you can keep your mind off work-related messages when you’ve wrapped up your day, even if you use your personal cell phone or laptop for business.
Set up Slack for your workday
Manage your settings to only receive notifications during your working hours.
Adjust your time zone so coworkers across the globe know your local time.
Edit your profile to help coworkers learn your work schedule.
Like email or text messages, it can be tempting to check work-related Slack messages when you’re not actually working. Set a daily Do Not Disturb schedule to systematically unplug and enjoy your offtime by pausing notifications in Slack.
Let’s say your working hours are between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. — set your Do Not Disturb schedule from the hours between 5:01 p.m. to 8:59 a.m.! Go ahead, enjoy an uninterrupted evening meal, have a good night's rest, and maybe even check the morning newspaper with your caffeinated beverage of choice.
Note: Workspace Owners and Admins can set a default Do Not Disturb schedule for their members. See Set default Do Not Disturb hours.
Meal and rest breaks
You can also quickly pause notifications while you take your lunch or coffee breaks. Typically these rest periods are more flexible, so you can pause messages on the fly or update your status to let people know when to expect you back.
Tip: Consider muting individual channels that you don’t want to leave, but just want a break from — whether that’s during your workday or after!
Adjust your time zone
If you travel across time zones for work, sometimes the lines of when you’re available get blurry. When you get to where you’re going, adjust your local time zone in Slack so coworkers know what time it is for you when they check your profile. Doing this will also keep your Do Not Disturb schedule running as intended.
Use custom profile fields
Slack is used by teams all over the world in all industries, and everyone’s workday looks a little different.
On Slack’s paid plans, Workspace Owners and Admins can create custom profile fields. Encourage a healthy work-life balance and set better expectations for when people are available by including a custom field showing people’s work hours.
