Creating a Focused, Balanced Work Environment with Scheduled Messages
Effective communication is the backbone of teamwork, but it should never come at the cost of personal well-being. That’s why Mattermost is introducing Scheduled Messages in version 10.3 for our Professional and Enterprise plans. This feature is designed to enhance flexibility and control for team communication and support the “right to disconnect.”
Supporting the Right to Disconnect
The right to disconnect is the ability for individuals to disconnect from work-related communication outside of their regular working hours. This concept, increasingly recognized worldwide, empowers employees to set boundaries between work and personal life.
Scheduled Messages allow users to craft their communications whenever it’s convenient for them and schedule delivery for a more appropriate time. For example, an operations manager can draft critical maintenance reminders after hours and schedule them to send during the next team shift to ensure smooth coordination.
By ensuring that messages are sent during working hours or at mutually agreed-upon times, teams can collaborate without interrupting personal downtime. Whether you’re coordinating across time zones, preparing for a busy week, or simply respecting colleagues’ time, Scheduled Messages ensure your communication is both effective and considerate.
Using Scheduled Messages: Send Messages at the Perfect Time
The first thing you’ll notice in the new design is an update to the Send button. This new segmented control opens a menu where you can select from preset scheduling options or choose a custom date and time to send your message.
Keep Track of Scheduled Messages
Once a message is scheduled, a helpful indicator appears above the message input box, reminding you of your scheduled message in that channel.
All your scheduled messages are then conveniently accessible in the Drafts view. Drafts and Scheduled items are separated in tabs within this view. In addition, the Drafts item in the left sidebar has new indicators that identify the number of scheduled and drafted messages.
Manage Scheduled Messages with Ease
In the Drafts view, scheduled messages are clearly labeled with their respective send dates and times. From here, you can:
- Modify the scheduled time.
- Edit the message content.
- Delete the message if it’s no longer needed.
This ensures you remain in control of your communications, adapting them as necessary to meet changing needs.
Scheduled Messages is just one of the many ways Mattermost is focused on optimizing team collaboration. By aligning with principles like the “right to disconnect,” we aim to foster healthier work environments and ensure communication supports team well-being. Looking ahead, scheduled messages will be coming to the mobile app soon. We’ll also be working on a Notifications Schedule feature that will further reinforce this principle and allow team members to manage their notifications outside of working hours.
Ready to get started?
Scheduled Messages is now available in version 10.3. View the docs page to learn more or share your feedback with us in the Mattermost Forum. Explore Scheduled Messages in Mattermost today and take a step toward more balanced, thoughtful communication.
