Wired UK article on Slack & attention concerns at work

[sholden]

Interesting read from Wired UK on how Slack (and other instant messaging apps) are adding communication & collaboration value to companies and work groups but also increasing interruptions which have a negative impact on attention and focus ... https://www.wired.co.uk/article/slack-ruining-work

 

[John Forrister]

Thanks for posting that, Steve. It really brings up the question of when synchronous or asynchronous communication is more effective for a team. We need both – realtime and delayed – as long as there are agreements in place about response time for email and voicemail. Way way way back David Allen said something about when an email thread (asynchronous) hits a certain number of replies, it's time for a live (synchronous) meeting.

 

[Oogiem]

Very interesting. In general I much prefer asynchronous communications because it allows me to handle and respond to requests or issues when I am at my best for that task. Synchronous ones frequently are at bad times of the day. Learning what my prime working times are and focusing my efforts to handle difficult problems then is critical and so I love working asynchronously. Plus in my case people I have to deal with are almost never in my same town or state or even country. Synchronous is almost impossible and none of us can afford to all travel for an in person meeting.

However, I use Slack for one specific thing and I use it like I use forums, in an asynchronous way.