If you use Microsoft Teams in your firm, you probably love how convenient and efficient you can collaborate. Don’t you love how you can reach out to anybody on your team, pretty much at any time and any location to get a response?
But sometimes when you’re on the receiving end of that message it can get…a bit draining.
You know the feeling. Being deep in thought, drafting an important document or prepping for a crucial court appearance, and then Ping…a message. Ping…another message. Ping…a response.
While Teams is an invaluable tool, it’s default notification system can sometimes feel more like a cacophony of distractions rather than a well-organized alert system.
Drawbacks of Basic Notification Sounds
There’s no distinguishing between any of the alerts that come across, and you don’t want to shut it off completely in case you miss something important, and all it seems to do is interrupt your concentration and fragment your attention.
It just results in decreased productivity as you are constantly checking each notification, disrupting your workflow. This fact is known to increase stress from mental strain of constant interruptions.
Topping it all off, when all the alerts sound the same it’s easy to become numb to the alert and you can miss critical notifications that need immediate attention.
These issues are not just annoying but can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of you and your team. The good news is that Microsoft Teams offers a solution to this problem.
Customizing Notification Sounds in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams now allows users to customize their notification sounds, enabling law firms to tailor their alert system to better fit their workflow. By assigning different sounds to various types of notifications, you can prioritize your responses and maintain focus on what truly matters.
Improve your focus by assigning different sounds for different notifications help distinguish between urgent and non-urgent messages. By minimizing unnecessary interruptions, your team can maintain a higher level of productivity.
This of course lowers the overall stress levels, knowing that only important alerts will break your concentration. And being able to quickly identify the nature of a notification allows for better time management and prioritization.
How to Customize Notification Sounds in Microsoft Teams
Customizing notification sounds in Microsoft Teams is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set it up:
Open Microsoft Teams and access settings.
Launch the Microsoft Teams application on your computer. In the upper right corner by your profile picture you’ll see 3 dots. Click that and from the dropdown menu select “Settings”.
Navigate to Notifications
In the settings menu that opens, select “Notifications and activity” on the left menu.
Customize Sound Notifications
The top section of the notifications and activity menu are devoted to sound.
You can select your sound of choice for notifications, and the sound for urgent notifications.
As you hover over the choice it will preview the sound for you. If you want to hear it again you can also hit the play icon on the right. Choose whichever sound is your preference.
While you are here, take a look at the other settings as well, you might not have already known some choices are available to you. For instance, I like to turn off sounds when I’m in a meeting.
And that’s it. Settings are automatically applied, no need to hit save or anything.
Priority Messages
As a side note, you may be wondering what priority messages are if you and your team are not currently using them.
These are set from the message sender.
In the message panel, click the Plus (+) icon next to send. In the menu that pops up, select “Set delivery options”.
Another menu will appear, providing 3 choices: Standard, Important, and Urgent.
If either Important or Urgent are selected, those will ring out with the alternate notification sound.
Wrap Up
By following these steps, you can transform your Teams experience, making it more suited to the high-paced environment of your law firm.
It’s a subtle yet powerful tool to enhance productivity and reduce stress. By distinguishing between different types of alerts, you can ensure that your team stays focused on what’s important, responds swiftly to critical issues, and maintains a calm, organized work environment.
Embrace this feature and take control of your digital workspace. Your team will thank you for it, and you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.