17 tips that will make you LOVE using Slack
Hott takes on getting more out of Slack. Reminders, search operators, channel hygiene, threading discipline, and the keyboard shortcuts that compound into hours saved every week. Not exhaustive. Just the ones I actually use.
Fall in love with Slack and help your org to be more productive with my list of Hott tips.
I guarantee you will learn at least one new Slack tip here!
Why should you listen to me?
I've helped multiple orgs thrive on Slack.
I’ve grown an agency media buying and creative team from 3 to 30+ and was a manager at 2018's “#1 Best Place to Work in New York”.
Let's dig in:
1. Manage your notifications!
- Select which notifications you want to receive.
- Set up do not disturb times so you're not getting pings while you're doing important work, with family/friends, or sleeping.
- Mute notifications for channels you're not needed in
2. ⌘ + K / Ctrl + K - Quick Switcher!
I can't believe most people still use their mouse to navigate Slack when it’s 10x faster to use this keyboard shortcut and type ahead for any channel or DM.
This is the KEY to personal Slack efficiency and success.
USE IT!
3. Avoid direct messages and group DMs, use private channels instead!
DMs discourage collaboration and transparency.
When you need to get back to a convo, you need to remember exactly who was involved instead of the topic.
DMs can’t be linked to reference in other channels.
4. Use public channels primarily!
This makes it easier for other people to chime in, involve other people if needed, and allows others to learn from whatever is discussed.
Ask questions where many people can answer them and many people see the answer.
5. Set guidelines for channel names
Organize channels by teams, clients, projects, functions, and topics.
Use channel name prefixes to make channels easy to sort and find.
#internal-[clientname]-creative
#hr-payroll
#help-slack
Rename channels when needed!
6. *More* channels are actually better!
I've heard so many people complain about having too many channels, but their complaint is actually because they're forced to pay attention to less relevant conversations in the few channels they're in.
More dedicated channels for specific topics make it easier to pay attention to relevant conversations and find information and past conversations.
Create a new channel next time you have a new topic that's specific to a specific group of people. Archive it when you're done.
It helps the team focus and keeps them from getting overwhelmed by notifications for things they don't need to know because...
7. It's not rude to leave a channel!
When you've had your questions answered or are no longer interested, feel free to leave the channel so it won't distract you anymore.
8. Use threads!
Keep the discussion in one place where it's easier to follow and reduces noise as each message in a thread does not result in an unread message for everyone else in the channel.
9. Slack doesn't have to be instant!
Use it asynchronously:
Don't expect an instant response. You don't know what other people are doing.
Include all of the info others need to make decisions or answer questions.
Send video/audio messages to explain things better!
Write longer messages that scan quickly:
- Use emoji, bulleted lists, and bold/italic text styling to make your titles and key points stand out in longer messages.
- This is especially useful for announcements or meeting recaps.
10. @channel and @here are different!
@channel notifies all members of a channel
@here notifies only the *active* members of a channel and won’t notify people that are away/busy
Avoid using @here or @channel unless it's urgent and important
11. Treat Slack like a weapon
It requires training and practice to be great.
It can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Provide your team with time and resources to learn and understand:
- How Slack works properly
- How your org uses Slack
- How to not use Slack
12. Use apps that integrate with your favorite tools
Connect tools you use (Google Drive, Clickup, Zapier, etc) to Slack to send things to those apps or get notifications from them. [img:tWICRXi3G]
13. Make your availability clear
Use the Google Calendar app to sync your calendar to your status automatically
14. Slack isn’t the right tool for everything.
Don’t use Slack in place of other better, more appropriate tools.
Slack isn't great for storing documentation or managing tasks.
15. Slack doesn't have to be business all the time
Express yourself, have fun.
- Use emojis in your messages.
- Use emoji reactions to respond to messages.
- Upload and use custom emoji's!
- Share gifs via /giphy
- Make channels around common interests (examples from GitLab)
16. Organize your sidebar
Use sections to organize types of channels like:
- Important to my job
- My clients
- Company stuff
- Fun stuff/my interests
17. Send yourself messages
Write yourself quick notes
Send yourself files across devices
Write and preview/test important messages before sending in a channel
I learned/stole a lot of this from:
- Slack's own comprehensive help center: https://slack.com/help/categories/200111606
- Gitlab's impressive, accessible, and totally free company handbook: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/#slack
Review and bookmark these links for more help and tips!
That's it!
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