- We use Slack for daily team communication
- We, however, purposefully and politely decline most invitations to join clients’ Slack
- This policy is less about communication capacity and more about deep work capability
- It shields all members of the Creative & Strategic teams from unnecessary interruptions crashing deep work
- It allows some members of the Project & Account Management team to be on a client’s Slack during intensive sprints requiring fast responses
- No exceptions
A deliberate practice
Like many digital-enabled and workforce-distributed companies, Pixel Dreams uses Slack. Most channels serve teamwork and team communication. A few are playgrounds for social and cultural exchanges, including banters, memes, and recommendations. Guess what #no-context-posts is for and how active it is.
But…
Too much of a good thing can bring adverse effects. As we continue scaling to support clients’ growth, bigger teams bring more voices and noises. More things to keep up = less bandwidth for deep work.
Yet…
Deep work is essential to what clients count on us for ― delivering creativity and strategy with mastery. For this type of work, real-time communication isn’t on the top of the values list. What tops the chart are cognitive-intensive capabilities ― envision, concentration, execution, etc. This work calls for pushing cognitive capabilities to their limit, which only happen during flow states. Because getting into a state of flow takes time, distractions and interruptions delay and even prevent it from occurring.
And that’s why we protect our team’s precious bandwidth to do the work ― the most important work.
What about timely requests?
Call us. 💥
What about emergencies?
Call 911. 🔥
Can you make an exception for my company?
Respectfully no, because we’re committed to delivering you the best work possible. 🦄
Book recommendations
