Turn off notifications when not working

When working remotely, there can be a feeling that you need to be present all the time and answer every Slack notification immediately. Maybe this is expected in remote teams?

Nope. Turns out that’s not the case. I asked some remote teams to share how they communicate:

"Our main communication channel is Slack and there is not an expectation for receiving an immediate response." –  Marketgoo

"We usually start and end the day with greetings and goodbyes via Slack. There’s plenty of discussions and important information moving around there also, but no one is expected to instantly reply to anything." –  Teamweek 

Stanwood’s remote team turns their notifications off when away from their desk:

"If we are off, we switch our profile status to offline and turn off our notifications. That way, we don’t get lured into Slack again by the continuing messages of our friends and colleagues. Due to our flexible schedules, someone’s always working and you may get the feeling to miss out on some important things. But it’s important to unplug and really be off work when you’re off."

It’s nice to see when managers encourage to keep a healthy work schedule. But it’s not like this in every company working remotely – when planning to join a team, it’s a good idea to talk to them about how would your future work life look like.

Done with work for today? Turn off your phone!