As employees log on to their work computers and prepare to engross themselves in the daily grind, there is a much-needed moment of mental preparation. The workday is long, clients are demanding, the coffee maker doesn’t work, and worst of all is the fear that every time you find yourself focused on a task, you will be interrupted by a colleague.

This is a war we have been fighting for all too long, communication versus distraction. We’ve all been in this position when we look at our schedule and see four meetings scheduled for the day, and then struggle with fitting in time to focus on specific tasks.

But now, there’s a new foe in the distraction war. The meeting nightmare still exists, but the new communication technology adopted during the work-from-home time of COVID means that employees now have to navigate all the different means of communication. Yet, it’s not productivity that is taking the hit, it’s their mental toll. Research shows (opens pdf) that more distractions means employees will try and work faster while overloading their mental coping mechanisms with stress and frustration.

The question is, did we over-adopt or are we just using them wrong? So, let’s reanalyse things by examining the different tools out there to determine which tools are best suited to different types of communication.

Tools as a blessing and a curse

Email

Email has been an effective tool for communication in the workplace since the ’90s. Non-time pertinent communications could be handled by simply sending an email. But the workplace took the convenience to another level and soon everything was ending up in an inbox.

Pro: Non-invasive and convenient

Con: Often overused and inhibits opportunities for knowledge sharing

Slack

Slack, Microsoft Teams, and similar tools gave teams the ability to instantly communicate when they couldn’t simply tap each other on the shoulder. This was great for keeping up communication at the workplace but bad for increasing the distraction of communication.

Pro: Increased communication, with the ability to do so with individuals or teams

Con: Communication overload and increased distraction

Trello

Trello is a visual tool that can help keep teams and individuals on track to reach goals and meet deadlines. But soon employees found themselves swimming in a sea of tasks with the list growing faster than they could be checked off.

Pro: Organised method of reaching and tracking goals

Con: It can be disheartening and stressful to see a long list of goals

Google Docs

Google Docs and tools like Notion have made it easy for teams to work together on content in real-time. Remember when we used to attach documents to an email? But when it’s too easy to create and share content, quality, and organisation of information can suffer.

Pro: It’s easy to collaborate around shared content

Con: It takes discipline to keep information organised

Right tools for the job

All the tools above are wildly effective when used right and should be used to complement one another. It all comes down to what the famous philosopher, Marshall McCluhan, once said, “Medium is the message.” In other words, the outlet you choose for a particular message plays a role in how it is understood.

When should you send an email, a Slack message, put a task in Trello, or actually interrupt them via call/in person by asking them the question?

Emails are convenient, but usually not seen as time-sensitive. They can be easily misunderstood and can create serious knowledge silos. It is not as easy to replace a face to face conversation with email as it is with Slack. So, keep internal email usage to things like recap notes, status updates, or official team announcements.

Certain day-to-day communications can be left up to Slack. But many people have Slack notifications enabled, in-case something urgent comes up. So be conscious of interrupting your teammates unnecessarily, especially if you know it will take more than a few minutes of their time. Slack is supposed to be a medium time-sensitive form of communication, as in, maybe you don’t get a response within seconds, but it’s quicker than email.

Note on direct messages: While direct messaging is best and conveys a sense of personalisation, it also is a missed opportunity to share information with the team and work collaboratively.

There’s a simple idea that can help to identify the best place to communicate. Wherever possible, communicate “where the work happens”. If you have input on a Google doc, add a comment to the document. If you need an update on a task in Trello, add a comment in Trello.

Using the built-in communication tools means you don’t need to think about who to notify and your message is in the context of the work it relates to. This will help to break down knowledge silos, encourage asynchronous communication, and help to ensure that feedback and ideas don’t slip through the cracks.

This is also where plugins and integrations can help. Look for ways to bring updates from other tools you use into Slack. Or look at Power-Ups in Trello for helping you manage your email or collaborate on documents. Connecting communication to the tools you use to get work done can make your communication much more effective.

Communicate what’s right for you

Deciding on what platform to use for your message is just the first part of the issue. A serious cause for distraction is the inability to determine when to communicate and when to respond. But this is a question with unique answers depending on the organisation.

Slack notifications let you know that there is a message waiting, but should you check it right away? If not, how often should you check it? And what should I send in a direct message and what should I send in to one of the group channels? These are questions you as an organisation need to sit down and discuss.

It takes a group effort to come together on what’s right and a group effort to ensure it continues effectively.