This page is part of The Toolbox by Danny Smith.
Slack statuses are a great way to subtly and passively communicate your status without the need to send messages to people. Many companies have some default statuses set up, but you can add your own. It’s a good idea do document these in your Slack Guide so everyone knows what they mean, and to discourage folks from setting random emoji which don’t convey any meaning.
Here are some examples:
Emoji | Status | When to use |
🗓️ | In a meeting | Signals that you’re in a meetings. Can be set & unset automatically by the Google Calendar or Outlook integration. |
🌴 | On vacation/holiday | Signals that you’re off. |
🤒 | Off Sick | Signals that you’re off sick. |
🔒 | In focus mode | Signals that you’re in focus mode and are hyper-focussed on some piece of work. |
✈️ | Travelling | Signals that you’re traveling (so will only be checking slack sporadically). |
☕ | Up for a social chat | Signals that you’re free for a social chat. It’s usually best to set this to turn off after an hour or so |
🤧 | Not on top form | Signals that you are at work but aren’t on top form. Perhaps your kids kept you u all night or you’re feeling a bit under the weather. |
🏢 | In the office | Signals that you’re in the office. |
More on Slack Statuses
Slack shows your availability with a small dot next to your profile. This is empty when you’re “offline”, green when you’re active and has a z when you have your notifications snoozed. You’re set to away after 10 minutes of desktop inactivity, or if you navigate away or close the app on your mobile device.