Struggling To Reduce Your Reliance On Chat? 4 Things You Can Do To Regain Sanity

Disconnect after work is one of the challenging situations when working remote. We are online almost all the time. Especially with the rise of modern chat tools (Slack, MS Teams and similar) it's hard to let go. Chat fatigue is a thing. Here are 4 actionable tips to get your sanity back:

Allow Yourself To Not Read Every Message

We are not built for this massive amount of information that we are confronted with every day. Every come back to your desk with hundreds of messages waiting? Give yourself permission to miss some or all of them.

Make it clear how you work

Create a Notion page or a Google Doc and explain clearly how you work and that you prefer asynchronous communication. Add a link to this document to your profile, for others to see.

Remove the chat app from your phone

Leaving your desk is one thing. But your phone? Not so easy. At least for me. Chatting with friends, and a chat notification pops up? Sure, let's have a look. Gone is your free time. Either you got a lot of discipline (which I have not) or better remove the app from your phone.

Make it transparent when you are not available

In an office setting, it is easier to tell if a co-worker is available or not. You could see if they are stressed or wearing headphones. Use the “Do not disturb” or “Away from keyboard” feature most of the chat apps have to make it clear that you want to have some focus time.

With this 4 steps, you can reduce the reliance on chat apps and get back control over your workday. What are you waiting for?