The Slack Message That Made Me Rethink Everything
The "[Scheduled]" Habit That Gave Me Away
Picture this: It's 8:07 AM. Your team is settling in with their coffee, and they see this message from you:
"[Scheduled] Good morning! Had some thoughts on the proposal we discussed yesterday..."
That little "[Scheduled]" at the beginning? That's not a Slack feature. That's something I manually typed into every message I scheduled for morning delivery.
I learned this from a founder I worked with at an early-stage company, someone I deeply respected for their work ethic. When they showed me how they schedule messages in Slack, they always prefaced them with "[Scheduled]" so people would know the message was written earlier but sent at a civilized hour.
"It's considerate," they explained. "People know you're not expecting an immediate response since it was written last night."
I thought this was brilliant. Considerate, even. So I adopted the habit immediately.
The 3 AM Messages I Wanted Credit For
Here's what my routine actually looked like:
It's 2 AM, maybe 3 AM. I'm still working (because of course I am). I draft a message—maybe a project update, a new idea, or feedback on something. But instead of hitting send, I schedule it for 9 AM the next morning.
And I always, always started it with "[Scheduled]."
"[Scheduled] Quick update on yesterday's client call..." "[Scheduled] Had some thoughts on the new process..." "[Scheduled] Following up on our earlier conversation..."
I told myself this was considerate. "If I message someone at 3 AM, they might think I'm expecting a response right away. This way, they know it was written earlier but I'm respecting their boundaries."
But let me be brutally honest about what that "[Scheduled]" was really doing: It was a humble-brag disguised as consideration.
The Conversation That Exposed Everything
The wake-up call came during a casual conversation with a colleague. I mentioned how I always turn off my Slack status when working late so it doesn't show that green "active" dot.
Their response stopped me cold: "Really? I like people to know when I'm working late."
That's when it hit me.
We were both performing dedication, just differently. They wanted the real-time credit. I wanted the delayed credit with plausible deniability.
The "[Scheduled]" wasn't about protecting my team's boundaries. It was about advertising my late-night dedication while maintaining the appearance of being considerate.
What I Was Really Advertising
Let me be honest about what that "[Scheduled]" was designed to communicate:
"Look, I was working at 2 AM thinking about this project, but I'm considerate enough not to disturb you. Aren't I both dedicated AND thoughtful?"
I wanted people to see that 9 AM message and think: "Wow, they were working late last night on this, but they're so respectful of boundaries. What a great leader."
The "[Scheduled]" tag was my way of having it both ways: all the martyrdom points for late-night work, plus bonus points for being "considerate" about it.
The Performance I Didn't Realize I Was Giving
Every "[Scheduled]" message was essentially announcing: "I was working when you weren't, but I'm evolved enough to respect your sleep."
But here's what I was actually communicating:
"I sacrifice sleep for work" (and you should notice this)
"I think about work at 3 AM" (isn't that impressive?)
"I'm considerate about boundaries" (while simultaneously violating my own)
"This couldn't wait until actual morning" (spoiler: it could have)
The most ridiculous part? If I was truly being considerate, I would have just... waited until morning to write the message.
What I Was Actually Teaching My Team
My "[Scheduled]" habit was modeling some pretty toxic messages:
Work martyrdom is admirable. The subtle message was clear: if you want to be seen as dedicated, you need to sacrifice sleep and personal time. And you should make sure people know about it.
Boundaries are performative. I was teaching my team that real consideration means working unsustainable hours but scheduling the evidence to arrive at convenient times.
Appearance matters more than substance. Working at 3 AM isn't productive—it's usually desperate. But I was teaching everyone that looking dedicated was more important than actually being effective.
You should announce your sacrifices. Instead of just doing good work, I was modeling the importance of making sure everyone knew exactly how much you were sacrificing.
The Gradual, Uncomfortable Realization
It wasn't a lightning-bolt moment. The realization crept in gradually as I started to notice my own behavior.
I liked typing "[Scheduled]" at the beginning of messages. I liked that people would know I'd been working late. I liked the subtle signal it sent about my dedication.
But I also started to notice: I never scheduled truly urgent messages. If something was actually urgent at 3 AM, I sent it immediately. The "[Scheduled]" messages were always things that could have waited until actual morning.
So why was I working on them at 3 AM? And why did I need everyone to know that I was?
What My Team Never Said (But Probably Thought)
My team never gave me direct feedback about the "[Scheduled]" messages. But looking back, they probably thought: "Maybe just go to sleep and write this in the morning?"
No one ever said, "We love knowing you were working at 3 AM on our behalf." No one praised my consideration.
What they probably saw was a leader who was more concerned with performing dedication than actually being sustainable or effective.
The Culture I Was Accidentally Maintaining
Without realizing it, I was buying into a culture where:
Performance of hard work mattered more than actual results
Announcing your sacrifices was expected
Working unsustainable hours was seen as commitment
Boundaries were something you performed, not something you actually maintained
What I Tell Leaders Now
If you find yourself adding "[Scheduled]" to messages, ask yourself:
What are you really advertising?
Would your business actually suffer if this waited until morning?
What story are you trying to tell about your dedication?
What are you modeling for your team about sustainable success?
The most considerate thing you can do isn't to work at 3 AM and advertise your consideration about timing. It's to trust that your morning thoughts will be better than your exhausted midnight thoughts.
The Leadership Lesson I Wish I'd Learned Sooner
Your team doesn't need to know you were working at 3 AM. They need to know you can handle your responsibilities without sacrificing your well-being.
They don't need evidence of your late-night dedication. They need a leader who models what sustainable success looks like.
And they definitely don't need "[Scheduled]" reminders that you think work is more important than sleep.