10 Slack Life Hacks Every User Should Know
Slack is one of the most widely used messaging apps in business. Beyond basic communication, the service offers a variety of built-in features to help you boost productivity and avoid being overwhelmed by incoming messages. Here are some key tips and tricks for using Slack effectively.
Create sections to organize your sidebar.
If you need to keep track of dozens of channels and DMs, as well as a long sidebar list that requires scrolling, you can create custom sections to categorize related conversations and place the most important ones at the top. For example, you could create a section for conversations with just your team, or a group of channels and DMs related to a specific project. In the desktop app, click the three dots next to “Channels” or “DMs” and go to “New” > “Create Section,” then give the section a name. Then, open a channel or DM, click the star icon, and move the conversation to the desired section. This tool is only available to paid users, so if you have a free plan, you can use the “Filter and Sort” feature (click the gear icon next to the workspace name) to organize the sidebar and show or hide muted channels.
To use keyboard shortcuts, enter a forward slash.
Slack has a long list of keyboard shortcuts for performing specific actions in your workspace, such as launching apps (creating a document in Google Drive: /drive ), performing common Slack actions (enabling or disabling Do Not Disturb mode: /dnd ), or automating workflow tasks. Simply type a forward slash in the message field of a private message or channel to see a list of available keyboard shortcuts—many of these will vary depending on which apps are connected to your workspace, but there’s also a list of built-in Slack commands ready to use.
Set up a notification schedule to suit your working hours.
If you don’t want your device constantly bombarded with Slack notifications, you can set a schedule for when notifications are allowed. When Do Not Disturb is enabled, you’ll still receive messages, but you won’t receive notifications. (Notifications are enabled by default on both desktop and mobile in Slack.) On desktop, tap your profile photo > Settings > Notifications and scroll down to the Notification Schedule section . You can choose to allow notifications only on weekdays, every day, or on a custom schedule, as well as set specific time frames. To customize this on mobile, tap your profile photo > Notifications . You can also use slash commands to pause or resume notifications (type /dnd in the message field).
Designate frequent contacts as VIPs to prioritize notifications.
To stay on top of the most important notifications—from people or apps—add contacts to your VIP list. This will move their direct messages and mentions to a dedicated VIP section at the top of the sidebar. You can even allow notifications from VIP contacts even when Do Not Disturb is enabled. To add a VIP, tap your profile photo > Settings > VIP , then find the person, app, or workflow you want to add. In the Notifications section, you can enable the “Always allow notifications from VIPs” option. This feature is available to all paid plan users.
Schedule messages to be sent later.
A simple but very useful Slack feature is the ability to schedule messages for later times, such as during a coworker’s work hours or a regular check-in time. This allows you to create and send messages when they’re most important to you, while still ensuring they’re delivered at the right time. This is especially helpful when your team works in different time zones or on different schedules. After composing a message, click the down arrow icon—Slack will suggest a time, or you can select “Custom Time” > “Schedule Message.” Scheduled messages can be seen in the “Drafts & Sent” section of the sidebar.
Use reminders to flag messages for later action.
If you forget to read messages, you can use Slack’s reminders feature to mark them for later review. Click the three dots next to a message in a conversation to open the action menu, then select “Remind Me” and choose a default time interval or set a custom one. When the reminder time arrives, you’ll receive a notification and see it in the “Later” section of your taskbar. You can also mark messages as unread, but in this case, you won’t be notified at the set time.
Use search modifiers to find specific messages faster.
Unless you’ve starred or saved a message for later, finding the information you need in your active channels can be difficult. You can perform a simple search using the search bar at the top of the desktop app (or by tapping the magnifying glass icon in the bottom corner on mobile), but Slack’s search modifiers can help you find the text you need more easily. For example, you can use quotation marks to search for a specific phrase, add `:` to search results in a specific channel, section, or direct message, or enter ` before: `, ` after: `, or `on:` to search results within a specific time period.
Add your own emoji to your workspace.
Slack comes with hundreds of standard emoji by default, as well as emoji sets with themes like hybrid and remote work. You can also create custom emoji for your workspace—my personal favorites from Lifehacker Slack are the many variations of :partyparrot:. Tap the emoji icon at the bottom of any message and select “Add emoji .” Tap “Upload image,” choose an image from your device, enter a name, and tap “Save.” On mobile, tap the plus sign at the top of the emoji menu, then select ” Take photo” or “Photo library.” Your custom emoji will be available to everyone in your workspace. Note: If you don’t see the “Add emoji” button (or the plus sign on mobile), your workspace administrator may have disabled permission to create custom emoji.
Collaborate using Slack Canvas.
Slack has a built-in collaboration tool called Canvas, which allows you and other users to share formatted content that doesn’t fit in a typical message. Canvases are static—pinned to the top of a channel or direct message—and shareable, making them an easy way to share meeting notes, agendas, channel summaries, and more. You can create and format a blank canvas or choose a pre-made template. Open any channel or direct message and click “Add Canvas” (or the plus icon) to start from scratch, add a saved canvas, or use a template.
Delegate meeting note-taking to artificial intelligence.
Slack’s built-in meeting feature, Huddle, offers paid plan participants AI-powered note-taking , so you don’t need to use another video conferencing app, add an integration, or ask someone to manually take notes. AI will take notes, summarize key points and action items, and then compile them into a canvas accessible in the Huddle discussion thread for all participants to view. After the meeting starts, click ” AI Notes: Off ” in the upper left corner, then click “Start Notes & AI Transcription” > “Start Notes.” You can also set up automatic note-taking in specific channels so no one has to remember to turn them on. Click the channel name > “Settings” and click “Edit” next to “Always trigger AI notes .” Check the box next to “Automatically trigger AI notes for every meeting in #channel-name” and click “Save.”