14 Slack Tips to Improve your Productivity in 2024

Use Slackbot to schedule your reminders

Slackbot is a handy reminder tool for busy professionals who need to stay on top of their schedule. It assists you to set reminders for yourself and team members.

To set a reminder, just type “/remind” into the chat box and follow the prompts. For example, you could type “/remind #team-meeting tomorrow at 11am”. 

Click “Send Now” for an immediate reminder, or select the dropdown arrow to schedule it for later.

Once you enter the information and hit the send button, Slackbot will take care of the rest!

Combat notification distractions

If you’re bombarded with Slack notifications while working on an important task, here are some simple fixes to combat the distractions: 

• Access Slack only via browser to get rid of the app notifications.
• For desktop/mobile apps, apply the “Pause notifications” setting to silence notifications for a specified period.

• To permanently mute the notifications, click  Preferences -> Notify me about -> Nothing

You can also customize your notification sounds, timing details, and much more in the Preferences section. Just fiddle around to see which setting works the best for you.

Use @Mentions to reach out

To get someone’s attention in Slack, mention them in a message. Type “@” followed by the person’s username. The message then appears in their notifications.

Direct mentions help you:

• Share important information
• Ask questions that need a quick response 
• Acknowledge a team member’s exemplary work

Create notes or tasks for later reference

Thinking of an idea but need to remember it for later? Slack comes in handy here as well! You can quickly jot down your thoughts by messaging yourself and use that space as a notepad. This saves you the effort of switching to a new note-taking app.

Connect your frequently used tools and save time!

If you frequently use other tools for work, connecting them to Slack saves you time. Access the files and information you need without leaving the app.

Slack has a ton of integration options namely:

To check for all the possible integrations, visit the Slack app Directory and select the required application.

If you didn’t find your app in the native integrations, no worries, we have your back! Our easy to use automation tool Integrately can help you. It integrates and automates over 800 apps with just 1 click. Automating your Slack communications will save your efforts and avoid blunders that can happen if you mistime or forgot to communicate. So, sign up for an Integrately account and watch  this video to get started with your automations.

Never lose another important message

Sometimes you need to revisit the previous meeting’s content or a certain announcement.  You can do it easily by saving any message with a simple click in Slack.

To do so, simply hover over the message and click “Add to saved items”. Once saved, find it in the “Saved items” section of your workspace.

Master keyboard shortcuts to become a Slack ninja

Slack is packed with keyboard shortcuts that help you navigate the app more efficiently. We have compiled a list of the most frequently used shortcuts below. 

For more shortcuts, visit the Slack Help Center.

Star important conversations for easy navigation

With multiple conversations piling up, it becomes difficult to keep track of everything. However, Slack has a built-in feature “Star” that helps you mark conversations for later review. For this, just right-click on the channel/person and choose “Star Channel/ Conversation ”. These conversations will then appear in the “Starred” section.

Create custom categories to sort your Slack channels

Note: The section customization is available only with a paid subscription.

It is tough to navigate through the entire menu searching for a particular conversation when you have a large number of Slack channels at hand. Try sorting your channels into customized sections and relax!

To create a new section, right-click on any of your “Channels”  in the Slack workspace and choose “Create sidebar section.”

Slash your way to productivity

Slash commands are shortcuts for performing various actions within Slack without typing out complete commands. E.g., the “/call” command will initiate a call from your desk. 

To help you start, we have combined some popular built-in slash commands below:

To see a complete list of available slash commands, visit the Slack help center.

Filter out messages that aren’t relevant to you

When you have a lot of unread conversations, it’s difficult to manually go through the list to see which ones you’ve missed. No need to worry, just filter away inactive channels to focus on the most recent talks. 

Segregate your channels with unread messages by clicking “More” in the sidebar section and applying the “All Unread” filter. 

Get creative with your Slack Status 

Setting your “status” lets people know what you’re up to, like when you’re busy or away from your desk.

To set your status, click on your profile picture in the top left corner of the screen and select “Update your status” From there, you can choose from a variety of preset statuses or create your own.

You can also set a status emoji to further communicate what you’re doing or how you’re feeling.

The right way to name and describe your channels

A channel name gives an idea of the conversations therein. Thus, a good rule of thumb is to use consistent and descriptive names that are easy to understand and search for. Eg. Use “#design” and “#marketing” for departmental discussions.

You always have the liberty of naming your channels by yourself, but Slack provides a set of standard prefixes to keep your channels organized. These include:

Emotify your work

Emoji reactions are a great way to 

• Avoid unnecessarily lengthy conversations
• Provide immediate feedback on a message
• Vote on something
• Show that you have read and acknowledged a message
• Add flair/character to the conversations

Click the “emoji” icon and select your desired emoji to add a reaction.