Instant messaging is a great tool. It allows co-workers to do a quick question without having to leave their desks. This is really helpful if the person isn’t in the same physical location. On the other hand, instant messaging is a great interruptor. You can’t control when someone messages you. But there are strategies for handling IM interruptions that can make it less crazy.
Long Time Use
I have been using IM for a long time. The first contract/employer that used it allowed us to use Yahoo messenger. (That was a long time ago).
Then someone saw this tool called “Slack” and rolled it out to the company. It was like drinking from a firehose. Suddenly we were inundated by messages not just from the programming division, but from across the globe – and many of them were not even remotely professional. I lasted two days before I figured out how to turn it off, as did most of the people in my division, and we went back to Yahoo.
I currently use Microsoft Teams in my work. It allows us to communicate instantly. We also use Viva Engage (another Microsoft product) as a company to communicate news and congratulations.
Handling The Interruptions
The main problem with IM is that it can be constantly pinging. There are times when the communications are flying fast and furious and I am constantly getting pulled off task. I had to learn how to use IM so that it still allowed communications but at the same time didn’t destroy my productivity.
Mute Ongoing Conversations
I have conversations individually with everyone on our team. And we also have three groups: the developers, the developers+ops, and our whole department. We also have channels for production and test support.
The busiest channel is the developers. There is at least one conversation per hour, ranging from requests for reviews to asking who has the most knowledge about a business process.
I mute this channel. That way I see what is going on when I go into teams, but it is not showing up as a notification in my task bar. My coworkers know that if they need a response from me directly, to message me directly. This will show up in the notifications.
Mute Project Channels
Our organization has several agile teams. Each one of them is run by a different set of people, and any effort that needs more than one department is assigned to a team. I am currently on two agile teams (engineering only has five people). While I do need to be aware of what is going on in the projects, I don’t need to be interrupted.
The teams channel for the projects update frequently, but not with information that is necessary for my day to day work. So I mute project channels as well, and review them three times a day: first thing in the morning, right after lunch, and about an hour before I am done with work.
The project managers are very good with naming people in the channel, and anything that is flagged with my name shows up in the activity notifications.
Focus Time
I allow Microsoft Outlook to schedule focus time for me every day. It puts a block of time on my calendar, and during that time, Teams shows me as do not disturb. This allows me to get work done without interruptions.
I have Teams set up so that when I am in focus mode, messages from my boss and VP come through as normal.
Shut Down Teams
If I am working on something that really requires focus and uninterrupted time, I will tell my team that I am shutting down Teams and let them know when I will be back online. I also tell them that if it is necessary, they can text me on my phone.
I don’t do this very often, but it has helped me debug tricky code and meet tight deadlines.
Stopping The Problem
Most of the problem with meetings, email and IMs in the office is their misuse.
I have a set of guidelines that I use to determine what to use when:
- If something requires multiple questions, I schedule a 15 minute meeting.
- If I am asking for information, I see if I can get it from a readily available source (looking up an address rather than IMing someone for it).
- If something requires in-depth information or background, I schedule a meeting and put the information in the meeting invite.
- If I need a paper trail, I send an email.
In addition, I am also fine with asking someone to schedule a meeting, or to let them know when I will respond.
I have found that applying these guidelines keeps me from bugging people unnecessarily.
In Conclusion
IMs are part of the world these days. I even use Teams to video chat with my dad every week. But just because it’s a part of the world doesn’t mean it needs to derail you. By muting channels and having focus time, I find that I am not interrupted as much. And by following my guidelines, I find I have less back-and-forth because I am using better tools to get answers.
