Workast + Slack go together like peanut butter and jelly. With Workast, you can create tasks directly through Slack. Listed as an "Essential App" in the Slack marketplace itself, and with a free version, Workast is the easiest way to assign tasks and manage projects in Slack.
So if you are wondering "Can you assign tasks in Slack?" The answer is yes! Here's how it works, or, you can try it yourself here.
There are a few ways to assign a task that will be covered below:
- Creating a task in Slack
- Using Slack drop-down message menus
When creating a task in Slack
The quickest way to assign a task to a team member or yourself in Slack is when you create a new task.
To create a new task in Slack, type "/todo" followed by the task details. To assign a team member when you create the task, tag the team member's username.
E.g. /todo Email client invitations @Kay
This will assign the task directly to Kay when creating the task. The assigned team member will receive a direct message from todobot when they are assigned a task.
If you want to assign multiple team members to the task, simply add more in your task creation line.
E.g. /todo Email client invitations @Kay @Blake @Martha
To assign a task to yourself when creating the task, replace the username with @me
E.g. /todo email client invitations @me
By typing @me at the end of the task, the task will be assigned to you.
Press enter to submit the task
Slack drop-down message menus
After task creation, you can use the drop-down message menu to assign tasks. This can be done either immediately after task creation or after listing tasks using the /todo list command.
To assign a task in Slack immediately after task creation:
- Click on the message menu underneath the task creation message
- Click "Assign to Me" to assign the task to yourself
- Click "Assign to.." to bring up a list of users to assign the task to another team member
- Select the team member to assign them to the task
When you click the message menu, you will have a few options. Choose "Assign To..." to assign the task to another team member or the "Assign to me" to assign the task to yourself.
Once the user is chosen, the task will be updated with the new assignee. The assigned team member will receive a direct message from Workast (under Apps in Slack) when they are assigned a task.
You can also select the "Edit" option after opening the task menu (three dots) which brings up the full task details. Scroll to the "Assigned to" section and add assignees there. Click "Save" to confirm your changes.
*If you'd like to know how to assign tasks in the web app, click here.
Get more done with Workast and Slack task management.