My team thought I was ignoring them.
I'd block Slack for 3-hour focus sessions. They'd ping me. I wouldn't respond. They'd escalate. By the time I finished my session, there were 47 unread messages and a passive-aggressive "are you there?"
Blocking everything works when you work alone. It breaks when you work with a team.
Here's how I fixed it.
Deep work requires blocking distractions. But teams require availability.
If you block Slack entirely, you miss urgent messages. If you leave it unblocked, you get distracted every 5 minutes.
The solution isn't choosing one or the other. It's creating boundaries that work for both.
1. Communicate your focus blocks in advance.
I post my schedule in Slack every Monday: "Deep work blocks: M/W/F 9-12, T/Th 2-5. For urgent stuff, call me. Otherwise, I'll respond after."
2. Use Quick Actions for emergency access.
My "Deep Work" profile blocks Slack. But I add a Quick Action that opens Slack if I need it. It's there for emergencies — but I have to consciously choose to open it.
3. Check messages between blocks.
I don't check Slack during focus sessions. But I check it between sessions. 90-minute block → 10-minute break → check Slack → next block.
4. Set expectations with your team.
I told my team: "If it's truly urgent, call me. If it can wait 2 hours, message me and I'll respond after my block."
Turns out, almost nothing is actually urgent.
My team stopped expecting instant responses. They learned to solve problems themselves or wait 2 hours.
And I stopped feeling guilty for blocking Slack. Because I'd communicated the boundaries clearly.
The key is predictability. If your team knows when you're available and when you're not, they adapt.
If you're on a team that all uses Deep Focus, you can export your profiles and share them.
I exported my "Deep Work" profile. My teammates imported it. Now we all have the same blocking rules and the same schedule.
When someone says "I'm in deep work mode," we all know what that means. And we respect it.
Focus and collaboration aren't opposites. They're just different modes.
Deep Focus lets you block distractions during focus mode. And Quick Actions + scheduled breaks let you stay connected during collaboration mode.
You don't have to choose between being a good teammate and doing deep work. You just have to communicate the boundaries.
Block distractions. Communicate expectations. Respect both.
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