Picture this: It’s Monday. You arrive at work 15 minutes earlier to enjoy some peace and quiet to sort your week out. You have a TON of pending tasks, so you make your to-do list and mark the tasks by priority.

By the time you’re done, people have started coming in. With your to-do list sorted, you’re in a much better headspace and step out to make yourself a cup of coffee and catch up with your colleagues.

Feeling energized to take on the week, you return to your workspace and start on the day's first task. Just as you’re about to do that, you hear a ping followed by a pop-up on your screen - one that you see way too often - XYZ mentioned you on the ABC channel.

You try to ignore the pop-up and stay focused on the task at hand. But you just can’t seem to get the message out of your mind.

What if it’s an urgent task?

What if I need to be working on that instead of this?

What if it’s something that I forgot to do?

But you push away those thoughts. What you’re working on requires your urgent, undistracted focus.

Then you hear another ping. And another. And another…

In the blink of an eye, your phone starts blowing up like Times Square on New Year's Eve.

And before you know it, you’ve been sucked into the rabbit hole that is Slack. Without even realizing it, you’ve already kissed your well-thought-out to-do list goodbye.

With over 12 billion active daily users across the globe, Slack is basically the BFF of businesses worldwide. It's become the go-to tool for companies looking to streamline their communication and collaboration efforts. And let's be real, who doesn't want a BFF like Slack?

However, Slack can also be a major distraction, with notifications constantly pinging and tempting us away from the task at hand.

Psst… Did you know that "Slack" stands for "Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge"? _So now you know why your boss always tells you to "Slack it" when they want to look up something you discussed last month. _😏

It’s pretty common to spend so much time on Slack that you don’t have time to work on your actual projects and deliverables - which is the polar opposite of what Slack was created for.

So, WHAT went wrong?

Let’s See Why Slack Seems to Sometimes, Well, Slack…

Too Much of Anything is a Bad Thing, Especially Communication.

So, you know how Slack is all about those real-time messages that help you and your teams stay connected and communicate seamlessly? Yeah, well, turns out that can also be a bit of a double-edged sword.

What was once Slack's greatest selling point has now become a source of frustration for many people who feel like they're drowning in a sea of notifications and messages.

We get it - staying on top of all those messages can be a real pain. But don't worry; there's a solution that can help you manage your Slack life like a pro (spoiler alert). And we’ll get to it soon.

Since Slack has made communication SO easy, employees often tend to overuse it. The flow of messages and notifications can be a bit too overwhelming, distracting them from the task at hand.

It’s not just the number of notifications but also the content, including Slack integrations such as Giphy.

P.S. - Did you know Slack has its own emojis, including a tiny party hat, a taco, and a unicorn? Because nothing says, "I'm serious about this project," like a sparkly rainbow unicorn. ✨🌈🦄

Alright, enough of the Slack jokes.

Everyday conversations on Slack tend to look like this:

“Liam: Hey!

Were you able to look at the document I sent yesterday?

Let me know whenver you do.

*whenever

Benjamin: Waiting for your response regarding the finance doc, as I need to present it tomorrow EoD.

Actually, do you think you’ll be able to meet regarding it by 4 pm today?

I’d like to particularly discuss xyz topic, in case somebody questions me on that.”

…..

…..

Oliver: What are you guys getting for lunch today??? I’m thinkin’ Tacos. 🤪

Jemma: Guys, need help. Something important just came up.”

So while you might be spending a huge chunk of your workday on your laptop, it might not be as productive as you thought.

And it’s not just you; it’s a whole lot of people. Like a LOT.

A survey by RescueTime found that the average worker receives 63.5 Slack notifications per day, with each notification interrupting their workflow and causing a loss of focus. This can add up to a significant amount of time wasted over a day, week, or even a month.

The survey also found that most workers spend an average of 2.6 hours daily on communication and email, with Slack being one of the main culprits.

_See where this is going? _🤔

When 9 to 5 Spills Over to Your 5 to 9 (You Can Read That Again).

\ Slack notifications can also lead to a sense of urgency, causing employees to feel like they need to respond to messages immediately.

When a message is sent on Slack, the usual notification consists of a sound, vibration, or pop-up notification, all of which are significant enough to 1) cause a disruption in your workflow and 2) make you curious to want to check the notification.

This curiosity can also be why you feel like you can never truly disconnect from work because you’re receiving _and _opening (sometimes even responding to) work-related messages throughout the day, even after you’ve clocked out.

A study by UC Irvine found that employees who received frequent interruptions throughout the day reported higher levels of stress and lower levels of job satisfaction. And it’s easy to see why.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s important for everybody to unwind from their hectic routines and be able to make time for themselves, especially away from Slack notifications.

Information Overload Worthy of a Breakdown.

To top it all off, it’s quite unlikely that employees are members of just one Slack group; no-no, employees are usually in multiple Slack groups and have a lot of channels open throughout the day.

This can easily lead to an overload of information, which can overwhelm users, especially if irrelevant. When multiple conversations happen simultaneously, it can be difficult to keep track of everything that is happening.

Users may feel like they need to constantly check Slack to make sure they are not missing anything important, as newer updates push down older ones. This can lead to a feeling of overwhelm and cause users to feel stressed out, which can be a huge productivity killer.

Multitasking like a Boss Stressed Out, Overworked Employee. 😣

Another reason why Slack can be a hindrance to productivity is that it encourages multitasking. Don’t get us wrong; multitasking is a good thing. But not always.

Multitasking has been shown to decrease productivity because it splits the user's attention between different tasks, especially when they have to work on a critical, zero-distractions-allowed kind of task.

When users constantly switch between Slack conversations and other tasks, it can decrease overall productivity since specific tasks require your complete attention. Instead of focusing on a single task, users spend time responding to messages and checking notifications, dragging them out of their ‘_deep work_’ zone.

This also wastes a lot of time, resulting in employees spending longer than needed on tasks.

There’s Got to Be a Solution to this… and There is!

While Slack has become a distraction rather than a utility for many, we can’t deny that it is a powerful tool that has significantly revolutionized the way we work.

To maximize Slack’s potential, you’ll need to add a tool that can work alongside Slack, helping you manage your notifications, updates, and tasks while bringing Slack back to its true purpose: instant communications.

Something like Todo, a task management tool dedicated to making your work lives a little less hectic.

Designed to help you manage your tasks and stay on top of your workload, Todo can create task lists and set deadlines and reminders to help you stay organized.

With over 7,900 Slack teams using Todo to stay focused, it’s undoubtedly doing its part in ensuring productivity isn’t negatively influenced.

Turn Your Messages into Tasks, All Within the Chat.

Most importantly, the flood of Slack messages leaves the risk of you overlooking essential tasks or appointments. So instead of panicking when your colleague later follows up on a job you literally have no idea about, you can convert a message into a task when you receive it and set a reminder for it.

Todo also helps you prioritize your tasks by allowing you to quickly assess the importance of each message, so nothing can distract you from your high-value, focused work.

This reduces the risk of procrastination. It also limits the back-and-forth jumping between tabs, enabling you to manage small tasks without leaving the chat.

Plus, as you work through your tasks and complete your goals, you'll get a sense of satisfaction and motivation that’ll help you stay on track. There's something so satisfying about physically seeing your progress and knowing that you're getting things done.

A recent survey by Workfront found that 63% of the workers reported getting more done with a tool like Todo. And 71% of the respondents said that it helped them manage their time better - which means more time for important things like cat videos _and _coffee breaks. 🙃

Let Your Walk Do the Talk; Really, You Don’t Need to Talk this Much.

With Todo, you can also streamline your communication. For instance, it automatically updates your colleagues on your progress, reducing the need for follow-up meetings or communications.

This is a relief for many because, most of the time, these follow-ups can actually restrict you from doing the actual work.

Use Your Brain on What Matters, Not to Remember Lists.

Todo = lesser mental strain. With tasks and deadlines tracked within the app, employees no longer have to rely on memory or separate tools to keep track of their duties.

Heck, you can even create sub-tasks by splitting major milestones into baby steps.

This frees up mental space and allows team members to focus on their work without worrying about forgetting crucial steps.

You can also set up recurring tasks to ping you with reminders instead of having to think about them in the future. This will also reduce the chance of missing out on operational tasks, something your boss will love you for.

While you may feel overwhelmed, it’s also important to remember that your boss can also have a lot on their plate. Having an employee they can count on is something they’ll really appreciate.

Todo’s App Home further takes away the stress of remembering important things. If you feel overwhelmed by the mountain of tasks that’s come your way, you can remind yourself of what’s important at a glance by looking at the App Home list.

Being able to remind yourself of what’s important and what can be pushed ahead helps workers ground themselves and take on the day with the energy they need.

In fact, if you're part of a Slack team that's already using tools like Jira, Trello, or Asana, you know how much these tools can help keep things organized and on track.

Todo is the perfect complement to those other tools you're already using, helping you stay focused without messing with your existing setup.

Trust us; your teammates (and sanity) will thank you for this later.

The Takeaway.

Slack is like a superhero in the world of comms, swooping in to save the day and helping us get things done. But let's face it - even superheroes need a sidekick sometimes. That's where Todo comes in, the trusty Robin to Slack's Batman, helping you stay organized and on top of your tasks without getting lost in the chaos.

This means no need to manually:

• Create tasks
• Set deadlines
• Pen down reminders

Once you've got Todo integrated into your Slack life, taking care of your smaller tasks, reminders, and deadlines, you’ll be able to use Slack the way it’s meant to be - a way that maximizes productivity, efficiency, and collaboration.

Before we sign off, we've got one last thing to share with you: a Slack notification!

*ping*

“Todo: Here's to achieving your goals, meeting your deadlines, and feeling on top of your game. Cheers!" 😉