Putting your Slack status on “away” is a useful tool for indicating to your team members that you’re not presently available or engaged in work. Whether you’re taking a brief break away from your desk or need to communicate that you’re concentrating on a specific project, this function is great for controlling your presence and reducing distractions. In this piece, I’m going to walk you through how to change your Slack status to “away” and offer some tips from my own experience on making the most out of this feature.
Step 1: Opening the Status Menu
To begin, locate the Slack application on your computer or open the web version on your preferred browser. Once you’re logged in, look for your profile picture or initials in the top-left corner of the screen. Click on it to open the main menu, and then click on the “Set a status” option.
Step 2: Selecting the “Away” Status
After clicking on “Set a status,” a small window will appear with various status options. Look for the “Away” option and click on it to select it as your current status.
Step 3: Customizing Your Away Message (Optional)
If you want to add a personal touch to your “away” status, you can customize the message that others will see when they view your profile. Simply click on the pencil icon next to the default away message and type in your preferred text. For example, you could write “Taking a short break” or “Focusing on a project, will respond later.”
Step 4: Automatically Setting to Away
If you find yourself frequently forgetting to manually set your status to “away” when you step away from your desk, you can enable the automatic away feature in Slack. To do this, click on your profile picture or initials again, then select “Settings & administration” from the menu. In the settings page, navigate to the “Preferences” section and click on “Auto away.” Here, you can adjust the time duration that Slack should wait before setting your status to “away” automatically.
Step 5: Returning to Available Status
Once you’re ready to get back to work or become available, you can easily revert your status to “active” in Slack. Simply follow the same steps as before and select the “Active” status option. If you customized your away message, it will be saved for future use. Remember to manually set your status back to “active” to indicate that you are online and ready to communicate with your team.
Setting your Slack status to “away” can be a valuable tool for effectively managing your availability and reducing interruptions. By utilizing this feature, you can signal to your colleagues when you’re not actively working, setting clear boundaries and optimizing your productivity. Remember to customize your away message and consider enabling the automatic away feature to streamline the process further. Happy Slacking!
