Slack’s reminder and scheduling features help users manage tasks, deadlines, and team coordination directly within the platform. By using simple slash commands like /remind, you can create one-time or recurring reminders for yourself, teammates, or entire channels—streamlining workflows without leaving Slack. These tools are particularly useful for tracking personal to-dos, facilitating team standups, and ensuring follow-ups on critical requests. Beyond basic reminders, Slack also supports scheduled recurring messages for channels, which can automate announcements or check-ins.

• Core functionality: Use /remind [who] [what] [when] to set reminders for yourself, others, or channels, with support for natural language timing (e.g., "every Monday at 9 AM") ^[1][3].
• Recurring options: Schedule reminders to repeat daily, weekly, or monthly, but note that reminders can only target yourself or channels—not individual teammates ^[3][6].
• Advanced use cases: Pair reminders with threads, external tools (e.g., Google Calendar, Zapier), or workflow automations to handle multi-step tasks or structured requests ^[2][4].
• Limitations: Slack lacks context-aware "smart reminders" or priority-based sorting, and recurring messages require workflow templates for channel-wide scheduling ^[5][6].

Mastering Slack Reminders and Scheduling

Setting Up and Managing Reminders

Slack’s reminder system revolves around the /remind command, which supports flexible timing and targeting. To create a reminder, type /remind followed by the recipient (yourself, a channel like marketing, or a teammate with @username), the task description, and the time. For example:

• /remind me to submit the report tomorrow at 3 PM
• /remind team-standup to share updates every Friday at 10 AM

The platform interprets natural language for timing, so phrases like "in 2 hours," "next Monday," or "every 2nd Wednesday" work seamlessly ^[1][9]. Reminders appear as direct messages from Slackbot (for personal reminders) or as channel notifications (for group reminders), with options to snooze or mark them complete ^[4].

For recurring reminders, specify the frequency in the command:

• /remind sales to update CRM every Monday at 9 AM ^[3]

Key management commands:

• /remind list: View all active reminders, including their IDs for editing.
• /remind delete [ID]: Remove a specific reminder by its ID.
• /remind help: Access a quick reference for syntax and examples ^[8].

Practical examples:

• Personal tasks: /remind me to call the client in 1 hour ^[1].
• Team coordination: /remind dev-team to review pull requests every weekday at 4 PM ^[9].
• Event tracking: /remind office about the team lunch next Friday at 12 PM ^[1].

Limitations to note:

• Reminders cannot be set for other users—only for yourself or channels ^[3].
• Recurring reminders max out at monthly intervals; annual reminders require manual re-creation ^[5].
• No built-in priority ranking or context-aware triggers (e.g., reminding based on message content) ^[5].

Automating Recurring Messages and Workflows

For channel-wide announcements or structured updates, Slack’s recurring message scheduling (via Workflow Builder) offers more control than standard reminders. This feature is ideal for:

• Daily standup prompts (e.g., "What did you accomplish yesterday?").
• Weekly project status updates.
• Monthly reports or deadlines ^[6].

Step-by-step setup:

1. Access Workflow Builder: From the Slack desktop app, click Tools in the sidebar, then select Workflows > Templates > Send a scheduled message ^[6].
2. Configure timing: Set the start date, time, and frequency (e.g., "Every Tuesday at 9 AM"). Advanced options include time zone adjustments and end dates ^[6].
3. Customize content: Draft the message, add formatting (bold, lists), and attach files if needed. Specify the target channel (e.g., general or project-x).
4. Publish: Name the workflow (e.g., "Weekly Standup Reminder"), adjust permissions (e.g., "Only you can edit"), and click Publish ^[6].

Integration with external tools:

• Google Calendar: Sync deadlines or events to Slack reminders using Zapier or native integrations ^[4].
• Task managers: Tools like Asana or Trello can push task reminders into Slack channels, centralizing notifications ^[10].
• AI assistants: Platforms like Thena or Siit triage reminders into structured requests, adding layers of automation for complex workflows ^[2].

Best practices for automation:

• Stack reminders with threads: Link a reminder to a specific message thread to keep context intact. For example, set a reminder to follow up on a thread discussing a client request ^[2].
• Create a "Reminders Inbox": Dedicate a channel (e.g., reminders) to aggregate all automated messages, reducing clutter in primary channels ^[2].
• Combine with @mentions: Use reminders to nudge specific teammates by tagging them in the message (e.g., /remind design-team @jane to review the mockups tomorrow).
• Test frequencies: Avoid overloading channels with too many recurring messages; start with weekly reminders and adjust based on team feedback ^[6].

Example workflows:

• Customer support: Set a recurring reminder in support-tickets to "Check unresolved tickets every 4 hours" ^[5].
• Project milestones: Schedule a monthly message in project-alpha with "Deadline for Phase 2 deliverables is in 1 week" ^[9].
• Team culture: Automate a weekly "wins" prompt in general to celebrate achievements ^[9].