Mastering Slack Notifications: Essential Tips for Smart Collaboration

Setting Notifications in Slack

Slack is used as an internal corporate messenger. While it's also used for communities or temporarily created for university projects, Slack was initially designed as an internal messenger.

Therefore, features that prevent notifications outside of work hours or disable notifications for less relevant channels are well-enhanced. (No work after work hours!)

I don't even join channels irrelevant to my work. There's no need to disrupt my concentration by reading irrelevant content.

While some companies and clients still use KakaoTalk for work, Slack is significantly easier for file sharing, conversation search, and topic management. I'll write about this in detail later.

Usage Conditions

Basic Features (Available in the free version)

How to Set Notifications

1. On the PC app, click the Workspace name in the upper left corner. (Workspace = the name of your Slack)

2. [Preferences]is clicked.

3. You'll see the default [Notifications]. Here, next to [Notify me about...], click [Direct messages, mentions, and keywords].

• In this case, you'll only receive notifications for "1:1 DM" and "@mentions" and the "keyword notifications" explained below.

[My Keywords] Setting Method

Function Definition:

• This feature automatically sends a notification when someone uses a keyword set by the Slack user.
• It doesn't have to be a title or nickname; you can also receive notifications for specific projects or tasks.
• Of course, excessive settings can lead to notification stress, so appropriate settings are important.

1. On the PC app, click the Workspace name in the upper left corner.

2. Click [Preferences].

3. You'll see the default [Notifications]. Scroll down slightly to find [My Keywords].

4. You can set this blank space to receive a notification when your name is mentioned.

• That is, if you set it to [Team Leader Kim, Elena], you will receive a notification when someone mentions Team Leader Kim or Elena.
• Therefore, registering your name or the name you are called will allow you to receive notifications.
• Of course, if you receive too many notifications due to having the same name, you can delete the keyword.

[Notification Schedule] Setting Method

1. On the PC app, click the Workspace name in the upper left corner.

2. Click [Preferences].

3. You'll see the default [Notifications]. Scroll down slightly to find [Notification Schedule].

• Allow Notifications: You can set the days and times to receive notifications.
  • Since notifications are a two-way street, it's best to set a time that considers both sending and receiving messages.
  • Daily / Weekdays / Custom is possible.
  • You can set it from 12:00 AM in 30-minute increments to 11:30 PM.
  • For staggered work systems, it's best to set it from the earliest possible start time to the latest possible end time. (It's difficult to change it every time).

Per-Channel Notification Settings

You can also manage notifications for each channel. If you receive too many notifications from channels like RSS news feeds, you can turn off notifications for that channel.
1. Click the channel name.

2. A pop-up window will appear. Select the bell-shaped notification icon at the top to apply different settings to that channel.

Notification Priority

Even if you change your notification settings, it may appear that the changes haven't been applied. This is because each setting has a priority.

If you don't receive notifications even though they're turned on, check the priority below.

1. Mobile device OS notification settings (Requires modification of values in mobile device settings)

2. Notification settings for each Channel

3. Notification settings for Profile and Workspace

Other Notes

• If you have different notifications set for each channel, you can check the different channel notification settings in [Preferences] → [Notifications].

• You can set different notifications for each device (PC and mobile).
  • Since you need to be at your computer to receive PC notifications, you can set a wider range, while for mobile, you can narrow the notification range to prevent notifications during non-work hours.