Slack is either the tool that holds your remote team together or the thing that quietly drives everyone mad. Usually both, depending on the day.
The problem isn't Slack. It's how most people use it — reactive, noisy, always-on. Here are twelve habits that change that.
1. Treat Channels Like Rooms, Not Group Chats
The biggest mistake teams make is creating channels without a clear purpose. Every channel should have a one-line topic in the description. If you can't write that description, the channel probably shouldn't exist.
Good channel names are specific: #project-rebrand-2025, #client-acme, #finance-invoices. Bad ones are vague: #general, #stuff, #team.
2. Use Threads. Always.
Replying directly in a channel is like shouting across an open office. Every reply pings everyone in that channel. Threads keep conversations contained — only people following the thread get notified.
Make it a team rule: if it's a reply, it goes in a thread. Full stop.
3. Set Your Notification Schedule and Stick to It
Slack's notification schedule is one of its most underused features. Go to Preferences → Notifications → Notification schedule and set the hours you actually want to be reachable. Outside those hours, Slack goes quiet automatically.
This isn't about being unavailable. It's about being genuinely present when you are available, rather than half-distracted all day.
4. Use Do Not Disturb for Deep Work
/dnd 90 minutes sets Do Not Disturb right from the message box. No menu diving. Use it whenever you need to actually concentrate.
Colleagues can still send urgent messages — Slack lets them override DND if it's genuinely urgent. In practice, almost nothing is.
5. Message Yourself
Slack's "message yourself" feature is an underrated scratchpad. Draft messages, jot quick notes, save links to read later. It syncs across devices, it's searchable, and it's always there.
Beats having seventeen browser tabs open.
6. Set a Status That Actually Means Something
The default statuses — Active, Away — don't tell anyone much. Custom statuses do. "In a client call until 3pm", "Deep work, back at 2", "School run — online by 9:15" — these manage expectations without needing a single message.
Set it before you step away. Takes five seconds.
7. Use Slash Commands
Most Slack users have never typed a slash command. They're worth learning:
/remind me to follow up with Sarah tomorrow at 9am— sets a personal reminder/status— update your status without clicking through menus/collapse— collapses all image and file previews in the current channel/mute— mutes the current channel without leaving it
These save small amounts of time that add up across a day.
8. Star and Pin the Things That Actually Matter
Starred items appear at the top of your sidebar. Pin important messages to channels so they're always findable. Both features exist precisely because Slack's search, whilst good, isn't faster than just having the thing right there.
Pin the brief to #project-x. Star the channel with your most critical client. Stop scrolling to find things.
9. Mute Channels You Can't Leave
Every team has channels you need to be in but don't need to watch. Mute them. They'll still show unread counts when something comes in, but they won't ping you. You check them when you choose to, not when they demand it.
Right-click any channel → Mute channel.
10. Use Emoji Reactions to Kill Acknowledgement Messages
"Got it", "Thanks", "Will do", "Noted" — these messages exist purely to close the loop. Replace them with a ✅, 👍, or 👀 reaction. Same information, zero noise, no notification generated.
If your whole team does this, channel volume drops noticeably within a week.
11. Schedule Messages Instead of Sending Late
If you're working late or across time zones, don't send messages at 11pm. Schedule them for the morning. Your colleague doesn't need a notification at 11pm, and you don't need to feel like you're always on.
Hold down the send button → Schedule for later. Pick a time. Done.
12. Manage Your Presence Intentionally
Your green dot is the first thing people see when they want to reach you. Most people let it manage itself — active when they're at the keyboard, away when they're not. That works for the office, less well for remote work where you're constantly context-switching.
If you need to step away — make a coffee, take a call, have lunch — your status goes grey within nine minutes. That's fine sometimes. Other times it creates the wrong impression or means you miss something time-sensitive.
A few approaches: set a status message before you step away, use Slack's built-in "set yourself as active" toggle, or use a tool like Green Dotter to keep your presence active automatically whilst you're away from the keyboard. It clicks within the Slack window at random intervals so your status stays green — useful for calls, lunch, or any time you're working but not visibly so.
The Real Point
None of these tips are complicated. The teams that use Slack well aren't using more features — they're using fewer features more deliberately. Pick three from this list and try them for a week. That's usually enough to notice the difference.