How Remote Teams Handle Async Work

There’s a moment in every remote developer’s life when you realize: not everyone’s going to answer your Slack ping right now. The earlier you accept this, the saner your work life becomes. Welcome to the world of asynchronous (async) work. If you’re new to it—or you’re still figuring out why your team’s Notion pages look like a wiki written by time-travelers—this guide is your 15-minute crash course.

Context: Why Async Work Became the New Normal

Let’s set the stage. Ten years ago, I was the guy who’d schedule a “quick” 30-minute standup at 9:00 am for a team scattered across three time zones. Spoiler: it was chaos. People were either half-asleep, missing breakfast, or just plain absent. Fast forward to today, and async work isn’t just a buzzword—it’s how remote teams actually get stuff done without burning out.

Async is not “do it whenever.” It’s “work happens in batches, not in a constant ping-pong of interruptions.”

What Does Async Workflow Mean?

Async workflow is all about not expecting instant responses. You leave updates, comments, or code reviews, and your teammates pick them up when they’re online. This is the backbone of communication for remote teams spread across countries, continents, and—sometimes—odd sleep schedules.

Concrete Case: My Team’s Async Evolution

Back in 2022, my team was split between North Carolina, Berlin, and Bali. Meetings were a logistical nightmare. We decided to run a two-week experiment: all communication had to be async unless it was a true emergency. No calls. No “just checking in.” Just docs, threads, and Loom videos.

The first two days were rough—old habits die hard. But by day five, something clicked. People started writing better updates, sharing context, and using tools properly. Productivity (measured by shipped pull requests and resolved tasks) actually increased by about 18% compared to our previous sprint. No more “sorry, can you repeat that?” or “I missed the meeting.”

Step-by-step: How to Set Up Async Workflows

1. Pick the Right Tools

• Documentation: Notion, Confluence, Google Docs
• Chat/Threads: Slack, but also consider Twist, Basecamp, or Threads.com for less urgency
• Video Updates: Loom, Bubbles (for screen recordings)
• Task Tracking: Linear, Jira, Trello

Pro-tip:

Don’t overload your stack. If you’re using more than three platforms for async updates, you’re probably just creating confusion.

2. Agree on Response Times

Set team expectations. On my team, we use these general rules:

• Critical issues: Response within 3 hours (rare, but possible via a dedicated “urgent” channel)
• Regular questions: Within 24 hours
• FYI updates: No response needed unless you have a question

3. Write Like a Human

Async doesn’t mean cold or robotic. Use personal intros, add context, and—when in doubt—err on the side of too much information. Screenshots and Loom videos often save hours of back-and-forth.

4. Keep Everything Searchable

Notion (or your doc platform of choice) should be your team’s “second brain.” Tag docs, link related tasks, and use clear page titles. If someone joins your team tomorrow, they should be able to follow your async breadcrumbs without DM’ing five people.

5. Review and Refine

Every quarter, my team does a 30-minute async retro (using a shared Notion page and comment threads). What worked? What was confusing? Did someone get stuck waiting for a response? Use this feedback to tweak your workflows and keep burnout at bay.

Async Work Checklist

Step	Why It Matters	Tool/Tip
Set Core Hours (if needed)	Overlap for real-time emergencies	Google Calendar, Slack status
Centralize Docs	One source of truth	Notion, Confluence
Async Video Updates	More clarity, less typing	Loom, Bubbles
Threaded Discussions	Keep context, avoid chat chaos	Twist, Threads.com, Slack threads
Clear Response SLAs	No one left hanging	Team agreement
Quarterly Retro	Improve workflows	Notion, Google Forms

Pros & Cons for Developers

• Pros:
  • Deep focus time (no constant pings)
  • More inclusive for global teams
  • Documentation gets better by necessity
  • Less meeting fatigue
• Cons:
  • Delayed feedback can slow urgent tasks
  • Easy to feel isolated if not managed well
  • Written communication skills become crucial
  • Documentation can become overwhelming if poorly structured

Tools & Links to Try

• Notion – Our “second brain” for docs, wikis, onboarding.
• Twist – Async chat designed not to be addictive.
• Loom – Send quick video updates (screens + face).
• Linear – Fast, simple issue tracking for devs.
• Threads.com – Threaded async discussions for teams.
• Basecamp – Project management, async-first since 2004.

Real-World Story: When Async Saved My Sanity

Quick anecdote: Last year, I was in a rural Airbnb with spotty Wi-Fi, two hours from the nearest Starbucks. My team was in the thick of a product launch. Normally, I’d be stress-refreshing Slack. Instead, I shot a 3-minute Loom, dropped it in our Notion update thread, and went outside to hunt for signal. When I came back, everyone had left comments, code was merged, and nobody missed a beat. Async was the unsung hero.

Async isn’t a silver bullet, but when used right, it’s the secret to making remote teamwork actually… work.

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