How to Silence Notifications for Slack, Email, and Other Work Apps on Nights and Weekends

It’s 8 pm on a Friday, and you’ve settled in to watch a movie with the family when the Slack notifications start. First just one, then dozens. You feel like you should probably take a look to see what is going on, but you also know that it is not good for you or your family to be on the clock 24/7. 

Slack, email, and other apps that work through browsers, desktop apps, and mobile devices have revolutionized how we work — for better or worse. No matter when or where, your team and colleagues can reach you with questions, work on collaborations, and more. Potential clients can reach you with questions, and vendors can contact you about orders. 

Still, work-life balance is important. As a small business leader or an executive in a large company, you are always in demand. Setting a schedule to focus on your private life away from the office is important. Knowing how to silence notifications for Slack, email, and other work-related apps plays a central role. If you are worried about missing an important call or not responding to a message from a customer quickly, Smith.ai has services that may help, as well. 

Turning off all notifications on your mobile device

One way to limit when you receive email and Slack notifications is to stop all app notifications from your smartphone or tablet on evenings and weekends. This may be the best approach if you primarily use your phone for business or have many work-related apps. 

Setting Do Not Disturb on iOS

On iOS, select the Settings icon. Scroll to Do Not Disturb, then toggle the Scheduled slider. This will open a screen that lets you select times of day when your phone will not ring, vibrate, or light up for notifications. You can use Allow Calls From to allow contact from certain people. You can also manually turn on Do Not Disturb for weekends. 

If you want to ensure you will not be tempted to take a quick peek, you can use Screen Time to limit your access to work-related apps at night. 

Setting Do Not Disturb on Android

On Android, you will need to open Settings. Then choose Sound>Do Not Disturb>Schedules. On this screen, you have several options to set the days and times for Do Not Disturb, choose which apps to apply it to, and set exceptions.

Turning off notifications on one work app only

Turning off all notifications on your phone is not always the best option, especially if you need to hear your personal notifications. It is possible to toggle off your notifications for one or more of your work apps for the weekend, you will just need to remember to turn them back on when you get back to the office. 

There are two ways to do this, but it is an arduous process if you have multiple apps to silence during your time off. It may be a great option, though, if you primarily use just one app, such as Slack or Teams.  

iOS

You can also choose specific apps to silence by going to Settings then Notifications and scrolling down to select the desired app. 

Android

Navigate to Settings>Apps & Notifications>Notifications. Choose the name of the app under Recently Sent or click See All to find the app you need. Select the app and tap Advanced, then turn off all notifications or choose an option for how you want notifications to appear. 

Turning off notifications inside the app

If you want to turn off all notifications for Slack, Teams, or Messenger, this is possible through these apps, as well. 

• Slack: Select You at the bottom of the screen. Then Do Not Disturb and select a timeframe.

• Microsoft Teams: Click your profile picture>Settings>Notifications. From there, you can select Only When Active on Desktop to turn off your mobile notifications when you aren’t working in Teams on your computer.  

• Facebook Messenger: At the top left of your screen, click your profile picture. Click Notifications & Sounds>Do Not Disturb>and select a time to mute all notifications.

Setting a schedule in the app for quiet time

If you do not want to have to remember to turn your notifications every time you get back to work, using the app’s own "quiet time” options may be the best choice for you. This allows you to set parameters for notifications in the apps themselves. 

Slack

For Slack notifications, you can do this from the app. The process is the same on iOS or Android. You will select You>Notifications>Notification Schedule. This will open a screen where you can configure your notification schedule to meet your downtime from work. 

Microsoft Teams

On Teams, you can set quiet times and quiet days. This also works the same way on both iOS and other platforms. You will navigate to the Main Menu>Notifications>Quiet Hours. Turn on Quiet Hours and choose the hours when you want to silence your notifications. You can also choose Quiet Days from the Notifications menu and follow the same process.

Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger and other messaging apps may not have a way to schedule notifications, but they often allow you to mute them for a set period. In Facebook Messenger, you only need to select the name of the chat thread at the top, then Notifications>Mute. 

Smith.ai offers services to help keep your business running while you are off the clock

At Smith.ai, we advocate for delegating, automating, and relying on smart systems that can make your job easier while simultaneously helping to grow your business. Whether you are a small business owner who feels like you have to think about your bottom line 24/7 or an in-demand executive in a large company whose calendar is always full, you could likely use some help achieving a better work-life balance. 

There are services from Smith.ai that can ensure your business is in good hands while you focus on time with your family. Some useful services that may help you and your whole team reclaim your nights and weekends include: 

• After Hours Answering Service: Our receptionists ensure your calls always get a live person on the other end. We learn about your business so we can answer questions, make appointments on your calendar with leads that meet your qualifications, and help you close the deal. 

• SMS Services: We also respond to texts from leads, clients, or others who text you, setting appointments and putting them on your calendar, working with the calendaring software your company already uses.

• Live Chat 24/7: Our team provides a live website chat around the clock, answering questions and gaining customer contacts and potential customers. 

There are also options for ensuring your team stays on top of things during your time away. Our services integrate seamlessly with the programs you already use, including Slack and Teams. We can send notifications to your team members who are at work or on-call, alerting them of an inquiry and call summary or a call-transfer request. This means a member of your team can take the call transfer and handle it while you are relaxing, playing with your children, or running errands on your day off.

Reach our team to learn more about how we can help today

Smith.ai knows how busy business owners are — both at work and away from the office — and how distracting constant notifications from apps and calls can be. Turning off your notifications is a temporary solution that comes with some concerns, such as the possibility of missing important calls and potential customers. With the right technology and services, there is no reason why you cannot unplug while still ensuring every call is answered. 

This includes 24/7 call answering with our virtual assistants, who can also manage payment collection, outbound calling, and much more. To learn more about the services Smith.ai has available that could help you delegate your work and build your business even during your time off, contact us today. You can call or text (650) 727-6484, email hello@smith.ai or use our live website chat, which is available 24/7. 

We offer month-to-month plans, transparent pricing, and you can select a suite of services that fits your needs. You can view our pricing plans now and sign up or start a free trial. We also provide free 30-minute consultations where our team will work with you to understand your company’s needs and match them with our services and solutions that support them. Reach out to us or schedule your consultation today.