Fractional Resources

A fellow fractional recently vented about having to completely sign out of all client Slacks just to focus. She was finding it tough to work part-time on projects when clients are all working full-time - the constant messages were getting out of control.

Listen, I get it. I’m in… hell, I don’t even know how many Slacks anymore. If you’re not in enough Slacks to make this a problem yet, go join some communities. Or hey, create a bunch of placeholder workspaces - they’re useful for pushing active workspaces “above the fold” where you can actually manage them. (Yes, I actually do this. Organization through controlled chaos.)

Here’s how I handle this mess:

Kill those defaults immediately

• The moment you join a new Slack, turn off everything. Yes, everything
• Maybe keep 1:1 DMs and @mentions if you want them (I often don’t)
• Disable @here/@channel everywhere you can
• If a Slack won’t let you control these? Leave those channels (or better yet, tell them why their settings suck)

Make the desktop app work for you

• Keep active clients “above the fold” where you can see them
• Shove everything else below - out of sight, out of mind
• Slide workspaces up/down as priorities change
• Yes, this means actually learning how to arrange workspaces. Do it.

Custom notification schedules are your friend

• Slack has per-day notification controls (dig into “custom” for each day)
• Use these for clients you only work with on specific days
• Just remember: schedules affect notifications, not message counters
• And yes, you’ll need to set this up for each workspace. Welcome to fractional life.

Multi-platform is a pain in the ass

• Signing out across mobile + desktop + browser is messy
• Email notifications will still sneak through unless you hunt them down
• Set up each platform intentionally - this takes time, do it anyway

Set real boundaries

• Tell clients when you’ll actually be responsive
• Make sure they know how to reach you when shit’s really on fire
• Don’t apologize for being unavailable - you’re fractional, not 24/7

Pro tip: Trolling through every single Slack config option is worth your time. This is a tool you’re going to live in - make it your own. Learn every setting, every keyboard shortcut, every trick you can find.

By default, Slack is designed to interrupt you constantly. That’s great for full-time folks who need to stay connected to one workspace. For us? It’s death by a thousand notifications.

If you’re drowning in notifications now:

1. Turn it all off. Yes, all of it.
2. Add back only what you actually need
3. Document what works so you don’t have to figure this out again

The point isn’t to be unreachable - it’s to be available on your terms, when it makes sense for each client.

Want more real-world fractional strategies like this? Check out my fractional coaching community.