- Minimize distractions – cut out the noise and focus on the signal.
- Pick your battles – you don’t need to apply every tweak in this guide; choose the ones that work best for you.
- Set to auto-hide to avoid distracting icons. You only focus on the current app window.
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Disable notification counter on App icon: System settings -> Notifications -> Slack -> toggle "Badge Application Icon" to off
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Don't miss important notifications: Add managers/leads and important team members to VIP list and check "Always allow notifications from VIPs"
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Notifications: Uncheck "Notify me about replies to threads I'm following" -> You'll still receive unread threads alert within the app but they won't distract you on desktop.
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Sidebar optimization: Create sections for unimportant/muted channels and move these sections to the bottom (Below DMs.)
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For Sections that are unimportant: Click on individual sections and set them to show "Mentions only"
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Set notifications to display as a persistent banner instead of auto-dismissed alerts: this ensures all your critical messages are "Sticky" - after configuring all the changes listed here, you'll only see critical notifications and you don't want them to be auto-dismissed.
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Distraction free UI: Slack app -> Preferences -> Messages & Media -> Theme -> Compact
- Note - It takes a while to get used to this view. Keep at it and you'll adjust to it in a week or two.
- Hardcore mode: Preferences -> Accessibility -> Simplified Layout Mode
- Override mac app switcher by setting Alt-Tab shortcut to command instead of ctrl
- Add Slack, Spotify and other non-essential apps to blacklists -> App switcher only shows what you really need for work -> You can still open/switch to these apps using Raycast or Spotlight. The added friction stops you from feeding your "doom-switching" impulses
- Set controls to only display windows from Current Space, Hide hidden windows
- Set up Spotify Player TUI
