Managing tasks, deadlines, and meetings in a busy workday can feel overwhelming. That’s where Slack reminders come in handy. Slack’s built-in reminder feature helps teams stay on top of their responsibilities, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. Whether you’re setting up a personal reminder, scheduling notifications for a team channel, or pausing unwanted alerts, Slack makes task management simple and efficient.
This blog will walk you through everything you need to know about how to set reminders on Slack, from creating basic reminders to more advanced tips for staying organized. We’ll also provide actionable Slack reminder examples and show how to customize reminders for your unique needs.
By the end of this guide, you’ll learn:
- How to set up a reminder in Slack for yourself or your team.
- The best practices for setting reminders in Slack to boost productivity.
- How to manage and stop reminders with ease.
Ready to master Slack reminders and streamline your workflow? Let’s dive in!
How to Use Slack Reminders for Personal and Team Productivity
Slack reminders are an excellent way to stay on top of tasks, deadlines, and important updates. Using the /remind command, you can create reminders for yourself or an entire channel, making managing individual and team responsibilities easier. Once set, Slackbot sends a notification at the scheduled time, ensuring you never miss a beat. Here’s a breakdown of how to make the most of this feature:
Setting Personal Reminders in Slack
Personal reminders help you track tasks, appointments, or deadlines. Whether it’s remembering to submit a report or scheduling time for a quick check-in, Slack makes it effortless.
Example: Suppose you need a reminder to prepare for a presentation tomorrow. Type the following command:
/remind me “Prepare presentation slides” tomorrow at 3 PM
After entering the command, Slack will confirm the reminder or ask for additional details, ensuring it’s set up correctly.
Creating Channel-Wide Reminders
Channel reminders are ideal for team-wide events like meetings, project deadlines, or shared tasks. These reminders ensure everyone in the channel stays informed and aligned.
Example: To remind your marketing team about a campaign review every Wednesday at 11 AM, type:
/remind #marketing_team “Campaign review meeting” every Wednesday at 11 AM
Once created, the reminder will appear in the channel, notifying all members at the specified time.
Setting Recurring Reminders in Slack
Slack makes recurring reminders seamless with simple phrasing like “every day,” “every week,” or “every two weeks.” These are especially useful for repetitive tasks or routines.
Examples of Recurring Reminders:
- Daily Reminder:
- Command: /remind me “Send daily project update” every day at 4 PM
- Purpose: Perfect for maintaining consistency in daily reporting.
- Weekly Reminder:
- Command: /remind me “Plan weekly tasks” every Monday at 9 AM
- Purpose: Helps kick off the week with clear priorities.
- Biweekly Reminder:
- Command: /remind me “Submit expense reports” every two weeks on Thursday at 5 PM
- Purpose: Ideal for tracking less frequent tasks.
- Custom Schedule Reminder:
- Command: /remind me “Check team feedback” every weekday at 10 AM
- Purpose: Keeps important tasks on track during workdays only.
Tips for Managing Slack Reminders
- To stop reminders in Slack, simply type /remind list to view all active reminders and cancel any that are no longer needed.
- Use descriptive and concise task names in your commands for clarity.
- Experiment with Slack’s flexibility by combining custom time frames and frequencies to fit your needs.
Slack reminders are a powerful tool to stay organized, whether you’re setting personal tasks or coordinating with a team. With these Slack reminder examples and tips, you can create a more structured and productive workflow for yourself and your organization.
How to View and Manage Reminders
Slack offers flexible tools for managing both personal and channel-specific reminders. With its intuitive interface and commands, you can easily access, update, or delete your reminders to stay organized. Here’s how you can list and manage reminders in Slack:
How to List Personal Reminders in Slack
To view all your active personal reminders, head to the Later tab in Slack. All reminders you’ve set will appear under the In Progress section.
From this tab, you can:
- Mark reminders as complete once the task is done.
- Modify reminders if plans or deadlines change.
- Delete reminders that are no longer needed.
If you prefer to use a command, you can type /remind list in any channel or direct message to Slackbot. Slackbot will then display all your active reminders.
How to List Channel-Specific Reminders
For reminders associated with a specific channel, navigate to that channel and type /remind list. Slackbot will display the active reminders for that channel, allowing team members to view and manage tasks or deadlines collaboratively.
Additionally, you can click View Reminders in the channel to access this list without typing a command.
Slack’s “Later” Feature: An Enhanced Reminder Manager
In March 2023, Slack introduced a new feature called Later, which revolutionized how users manage reminders. This tab provides a centralized location to track, modify, and complete reminders with ease.
Key Features of “Later”:
- All Reminders in One Place: Any reminder you create now appears under the In Progress section within the Later tab.
- Task Completion Made Easy: Once a task is done, simply mark it as Complete directly from the Later tab.
- Integration with “Save for Later”: Slack combined its reminder functionality with the “Save for Later” feature. This means tasks and saved messages now appear in the same location, offering a seamless way to manage all your important items.
Benefits of the “Later” Tab:
- Streamlined access to reminders and saved items.
- A clean, organized interface to track active tasks.
- A consolidated system to manage both time-sensitive reminders and saved content.
Tips for Managing Slack Reminders
- Use /remind list regularly to keep track of pending tasks.
- Explore the Later tab for a unified view of all reminders and saved items.
- Delete completed or outdated reminders to keep your list clutter-free.
Slack’s enhanced reminder features ensure you never lose track of your tasks. By leveraging the Later tab and commands like /remind list, you can stay organized and productive, both personally and with your team.
slack later option
How Slack Reminders Drive Customer Support Excellence
Slack reminders are a game-changer for customer support teams, offering automated, context-specific notifications that keep tasks on track and ensure nothing is overlooked. Here’s how they contribute to delivering outstanding customer service:
1. Optimizing Support Processes
- Why It Matters: Automating follow-ups ensures every request gets the attention it deserves without relying on memory.
- The Result: Better workflow management leads to personalized customer interactions and improved satisfaction.
💡 Quick Fact: According to Salesforce, 63% of consumers expect service agents to understand and empathize with their unique needs.
2. Simplifying Task Delegation
Balancing workloads across a support team is essential to prevent being overwhelmed and experiencing delays. Slack reminders make this easier.
- Why It Matters: Tasks can be assigned and prioritized fairly, ensuring high-priority items get immediate attention.
- The Result: A more collaborative team environment and timely customer assistance.
3. Supporting Better Time Management
Deadlines are critical in customer support, and missing them can lead to dissatisfied customers. Slack reminders help your team stay on schedule.
- Why It Matters: Notifications for due or overdue tasks ensure nothing is forgotten.
- The Result: Seamless communication with customers and minimized chances of missed deadlines or complaints.
4. Accelerating Customer Response Rates
Waiting for support can frustrate customers. these reminders ensure inquiries are handled promptly, improving the overall experience.
- Why It Matters: Automated prompts help teams respond quickly to customer questions or concerns.
- The Result: Faster response times foster trust and loyalty.
Limitations of Slack Reminders and Later
While Slack reminders and the Later feature are incredibly useful, there are a few areas where improvements could be made. For example:
- Smart Reminders Based on Message Context: Currently, Slack cannot automatically set reminders for messages that require a response, such as customer inquiries, which may result in missed follow-ups.
- Priority-Based Reminders: Slack doesn’t yet have the ability to recognize the urgency of tasks or messages, making it hard to prioritize reminders based on their level of importance.
- Limited Multi-User and External Tool Integration: They don’t support sending notifications to multiple recipients simultaneously or integrating with external systems like CRM tools, limiting workflow efficiency for teams using multiple platforms.
Slack reminders are a powerful tool for staying organized and boosting productivity. Whether for personal tasks, team updates, or recurring deadlines, they streamline workflows and ensure nothing is missed. Features like the “Later” tab and task prioritization make them invaluable for improving collaboration, time management, and customer support efficiency.
