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This is absolutely true and shocking difficult. You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, bloc

This is absolutely true and shocking difficult. You can disable every notification on your phone, mute all non urgent email, change the way you read news, block social media for a day or delete it permanently... all the small things help. But the worst interrupters are the hardest to tame. If anyone has a Slack containment strategy, I’m all ears.

xyzal 6y ago
How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?
- synlatexc 6y ago
  Yes. This worked well for me.
noir_lord 6y ago
I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours. No one has shouted at me yet.
- mrslave 6y ago
  Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down. Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another. Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.
  - noir_lord 6y ago
    It's basically that. I block out chunks of time and disable all distractions during those blocks, I don't have a phone on my desk. When I started they said to open a ticket with IT to get a phone installed and I simply didn't. If it's urgent, like production is out - come find me otherwise wait until I reach a natural stopping point and I'll reply, you'll get a better more thoughtful reply then me throwing a reply your way desperately trying to get back to actual work. It's weird to me how many companies seem to go out of their way to create an environment where developers can't get their best work done. I mean there has to be a degree of balance between working together and working alone but the ratio in my opinion is 20/80 for what we do, meet up, make a plan, bugger off and work on the plan, reach out of something is a problem. Versus the type of environment I'm currently in where it's death by a thousand distractions if you allow it, which I simply don't.
robmsmt 6y ago
use slack like email. all notifications off and check a few times a day
Bedon292 6y ago
I turned off notifications at the top level except @mentions, and then specifically turned back on just the super important channels (operations type stuff). I even explicitly mute a lot of channels that don't need my daily input, and people know that they need to @mention me if they need attention in that channel. And making sure to put the right quiet hours, and time zone in to shut them all down.

xyzal 6y ago

How about removing Slack from your phone and using only the web interface while in the office?

synlatexc 6y ago
Yes. This worked well for me.

noir_lord 6y ago

I just turned slack off and check it every couple of hours. No one has shouted at me yet.

mrslave 6y ago
Yes. Desktop app/web app only. If you can't ignore blue, shut it down. If you get lots of red, shut it down. Helping others is one thing. Doing it at the expense of your own productivity is another. Silent phone is easy for me. You can always make the bosses VIP. Also I have never installed email or Slack on my phone. My current workplace is relatively low volume (50 or so staff). I can't imagine how it must be with a lot more.
- noir_lord 6y ago
  It's basically that. I block out chunks of time and disable all distractions during those blocks, I don't have a phone on my desk. When I started they said to open a ticket with IT to get a phone installed and I simply didn't. If it's urgent, like production is out - come find me otherwise wait until I reach a natural stopping point and I'll reply, you'll get a better more thoughtful reply then me throwing a reply your way desperately trying to get back to actual work. It's weird to me how many companies seem to go out of their way to create an environment where developers can't get their best work done. I mean there has to be a degree of balance between working together and working alone but the ratio in my opinion is 20/80 for what we do, meet up, make a plan, bugger off and work on the plan, reach out of something is a problem. Versus the type of environment I'm currently in where it's death by a thousand distractions if you allow it, which I simply don't.

robmsmt 6y ago

use slack like email. all notifications off and check a few times a day

Bedon292 6y ago

I turned off notifications at the top level except @mentions, and then specifically turned back on just the super important channels (operations type stuff). I even explicitly mute a lot of channels that don't need my daily input, and people know that they need to @mention me if they need attention in that channel. And making sure to put the right quiet hours, and time zone in to shut them all down.