I've worked remotely for a couple of years, and I still find myself learning things about the practice.

I recently suggested to a colleague that I didn't like to "bother" people by asking them questions over Slack.

I described how much easier it was when working in an office; I could look and see if people seemed busy, and ask them whatever I needed to if they didn't.

Knowing that my message would result in a notification put me off sending it. I didn't know what that person was doing. I wanted to avoid disturbing them. This led me to "saving up" questions that I wanted to ask people.

My colleague told me that other people's management of their own notifications wasn't my problem. And she was right.

I had been wasting my own time by making a decision about other people's. Even my suggestion that it's easier in an office isn't true; asking "have got a minute?" in person is a much bigger interruption.

Perhaps everyone else has managed to figure this out for themselves, but in case anyone hasn't: Your colleagues are adults. They can manage their own time and alerts.

Ask the question and get on with your day.