Using Slack, the right way
Mindset
The most important and often underestimate enabler in using asynchronous communication tool is mindset
Slack is not WhatsApp ⇒ It is asynchronous by nature and every message is not meant to be answered immediately. Give time to your collaborators to answer. They won’t stop everything they do to validate a PR or answer a question in 5 minutes. If you find yourself in a recurring situation where your request is not met in time, question the process or the expectation.
Slack is a communication tool, not a project management tool ⇒ Unless you have direct confirmation (answer or reaction) that your message has been read, you cannot expect a hard commitment from anyone just because you sent a message on Slack.
Avoir ping as much as possible It's a very powerful tool that will trigger a notification on the receiver’s end. Because we are curious by nature, the human brain will have a hard time ignoring a direct notification. Therfore, when pingin someone, you kinda appropriate one's time.
Rules
sudo service restart
command.
- Thanks!
- It worked!
sudo service restart
command.
Slack Configuration
Because I used a misconfigured Slack for years, I know how much proper configuration of this tool is a game changer (thanks Francis ❤️).
Here is the MadKudu checklist:
☑️ Show only channels with “unread” messages (this one will change your life):
☑️ Setup your default reactions
☑️ Learn the basic shortcuts
- Mark as unread: Alt + Click
- Search channel: Ctrl + K
- Jump to the most recent unread message: Ctrl + J
☑️ Setup off-hours
☑️ Configure every channel with:
- Purpose of the channel
- SLA