It's worth pointing out that email is a form of instant message. It's one that comes with some sensible expectations of response time. But there's nothing sto

It's worth pointing out that email is a form of instant message. It's one that comes with some sensible expectations of response time. But there's nothing stopping you from seeing it immediately or replying to it quickly. One could build a corporate culture around email usage that was just as insane as the current Slack distraction culture. Or you could have anything in between where the two sit now. It's very similar technology. But it comes with a big advantage of nobody needing to install anything or keep some random website open 24/7. Personally, I tend to treat Slack as though it was a poor substitute for email. I'll check it every once in a while when I have some down time, and I make sure it can never send me a notification of any description. Unless, of course, (as I mentioned elsewhere) the current gig is at a shop that is willing to pay the productivity cost of being able to distract its developers whenever it wants. In that case, let it bingle away non-stop. Just don't expect me to get things done very quickly.