Working remotely is a popular and convenient way to get things done, but it comes with its own challenges. For instance, one of the most common problems is that it can be hard to appear active on Slack when you’re actually away from your computer. Slack is a messaging tool that many workplaces and groups of friends use to communicate with each other from far away, and it displays a small tell-tale bubble next to your online handle if you’re currently using the service. But if you’re not, the service will assume that you’re away from your computer and will set your status to away automatically after a certain amount of time. This can be a problem when you’re in a meeting, on the phone, or just away from your desk for a while.
Thankfully, there are some simple ways to trick Slack into thinking that you’re still actively using the platform. The most effective methods fall into two categories: software and hardware solutions.
For example, if you have an optical mouse and a smartphone that is compatible with it, you can simply play a looped video on your phone and place the mouse on the screen while the video keeps playing. This will cause the mouse pointer to move slightly and regularly, keeping Slack active.
You can also try using a small programme called AutoHotkey, which allows you to write short scripts that automate clicks. A popular way to do this on Windows is to create a simple script that clicks at intervals, and you can toggle it with the F12 key while it’s actively running in the background.
