How I Configure Slack for Productivity and Sanity
Tags: slack, productivity
Published: 2017-12-07 13:35:04

---
title: How I Configure Slack for Productivity and Sanity
published: true
description: While Slack is meant to make people's working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive...it can easily to do the exact opposite. Here are three simple things I do to stay sane.
tags: slack, productivity
---

While Slack is meant to make people's working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive...it can easily to do the exact opposite. I'm part of thirteen slack teams and I keep them open, all the time. If didn't go beyond slack's default settings, I wouldn't get any work done.

Here are three simple things I do to stay sane: 

###1. Limit notifications

I like being part of many channels but I definitely don't need to be notified about every correspondence. I can't help but _read things_, so if my eye is constantly drawn to the upper right hand corner of my screen, I'd be distracted all the time. My team knows to @mention or DM to get my full attention. Limiting notifications is a really great way of filtering out any noise and making sure you're looped in on important stuff. 

![](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/efokt48ukld8ksh5m3tj.png)


###2. Keep the sidebar simple

This is also about limiting noise! In the dev.to slack, I'm part of every single channel. But if you look, I only see the ones I've starred or the ones with any activity. These are the channels I'll know to check when I'm in-between tasks. 

![](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/zqe7kfid3tx24epygqer.png)

If I saw inactive channels listed in the sidebar, I'd have to scroll down and down just to see if I should be checking-in anywhere. Again, I can't help but _read_ stuff so limiting what's visible helps preserve my mental energy.

Here's how to reduce the sidebar:

![](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/lr08voqfdwzvv576s7uk.png)

You can also turn on `show all unreads` but I personally don't like seeing my unreads in a feed-style because it reduces context. I also like being able to choose which unreads I'm reading first because I have different priority levels for each channel. 

###3. Know the shortcuts

My most-used shortcut is toggling between channels (⌘ + T) and toggling between teams ( ⌘ + [number]). Like any other shortcut, it helps me move faster and get to where I want to be. [Here's a whole list of other shortcuts](https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/201374536-Slack-keyboard-shortcuts) that could change the way you operate!

In addition to these three things, here are some personal things I've also done:

- Pull in all my calendar events to get a snapshot of my day, which I'm notified about every morning at 8am. There are other ways to do this, but I chose slack.
- DM myself _constantly_ when I'm on the road as a way of fast note-taking.
- I don't use reminders as much as Peter, who is also a productivity nerd (he wrote [this article about leveling up your email game](https://dev.to/peter/programmers-should-be-good-at-email-too-here-is-my-guide-to-leveling-up-your-gmail-game)), but I'm happy it's there when I need it. I like using it to set channel reminders, like asking everyone to have a Rose, Thorn, Bud ready ten minutes before our weekly retro begins!

As a team, we also have lots of slack integrations. Here are some that come to mind: github, codeship, shopify, and most importantly, any abuse reports that get submitted (_we got a spammer!_) or any bugs that get reported. 

There are so many ways to make slack a powerful communication and productivity tools. I'd love to learn how you use slack and if there are any integrations/tips/tricks that you swear by!