How To Change The Away Time On Microsoft Teams

Adjusting your away time on Microsoft Teams is a straightforward and beneficial function that enables you to inform your colleagues of your unavailability or breaks. This article will walk you through the process of modifying your away time on Microsoft Teams and offer some personal tips along the journey.

Step 1: Accessing the settings

To begin, open Microsoft Teams and click on your profile picture or initials in the top right corner of the screen. This will open a drop-down menu with several options. From the menu, select “Settings”.

Step 2: Changing the away time

Once you are in the Settings menu, click on “Privacy” in the left sidebar. In the Privacy settings, you will find an option called “Set status duration”. This is where you can customize your away time.

To set a specific away time, click on the drop-down menu next to “Set status duration”. You can choose from options such as “5 minutes”, “10 minutes”, “30 minutes”, or “Custom”. If you select “Custom”, you will be able to enter your preferred duration manually.

Additionally, you can also enable the “Show me as away when my computer has been idle for” option. This feature automatically sets your status to away when your computer has been inactive for a certain period of time. It’s a great way to ensure that your colleagues know when you are not actively using Teams.

Step 3: Personalizing your status

Now that you know how to change your away time, let’s dive into personalizing your status. Microsoft Teams provides several status options to choose from, including “Available”, “Away”, “Do not disturb”, and “Be right back”. You can select the status that best reflects your availability and mood.

Furthermore, you can add a custom status message to provide more details about your availability. For example, you can add a message like “Taking a lunch break” or “Working remotely today”. This allows your colleagues to have a better understanding of your current situation.

Step 4: Understanding the impact

Changing your away time and personalizing your status in Microsoft Teams can have a positive impact on your work efficiency and collaboration with colleagues. By clearly communicating your availability, you can minimize interruptions and ensure that your team members know when it’s the right time to reach out to you.

Additionally, when you set your status to away, Teams will automatically mute notifications on your behalf, providing you with a distraction-free work environment. This allows you to focus on important tasks without being constantly interrupted by messages or notifications.

Conclusion

Changing the away time on Microsoft Teams is a valuable feature that helps improve communication and productivity in a remote working environment. By following the steps outlined in this article, you will be able to customize your away time, personalize your status, and create a more efficient workflow. Remember to experiment with different settings to find what works best for you!