4 Productivity Tools to Use in Slack
Slack started as a place to send messages. Over time it's become something closer to an operating system — the central nervous system of how modern teams get work done. That shift is largely thanks to Slack's open platform, which lets thousands of third-party tools plug directly into your workspace so work doesn't require constant context switching.
Project management is one of the biggest categories. The four tools below are among the most popular and each integrates natively with Slack, meaning you can get real-time updates, create tasks, and act on work without ever leaving your channel. All four have free plans worth trying.
What it is
Monday.com is a work operating system built around highly visual, customizable boards. Unlike tools designed specifically for engineering, Monday is used across functions — marketing campaigns, HR onboarding, client work, and OKRs all live comfortably here. The interface is color-coded, drag-and-drop friendly, and surprisingly powerful once you start building automations.
Slack integration
The Monday.com Slack integration sends real-time notifications when items are created, updated, or moved to a new status. You can also create Monday items directly from a Slack message — right-click any message and select "Create item in Monday.com" to capture a task without leaving the channel. Two-way sync means status changes show up in both places.
Install Monday.com in Slack →What it is
Jira is the industry standard for software teams. Its issue-tracking system, sprint boards, and customizable workflows were designed for the way engineering teams actually work — with backlogs, epics, story points, and release cycles. It can feel heavy for non-technical teams, but for eng and product, nothing else comes close to the depth.
Slack integration
The Jira Cloud app for Slack lets you create issues, assign them, and update statuses directly from a Slack message. Automated notifications fire when issues are assigned, moved to a new status, or commented on. You can also unfurl Jira issue links in Slack so teammates can see the title, status, and assignee without clicking through — huge for daily standups in Slack.
Install Jira in Slack →What it is
Asana sits in the middle ground between the visual simplicity of Trello and the complexity of Jira. It handles task assignment, due dates, dependencies, and project timelines cleanly, and is comfortable for both technical and non-technical teams. The goals feature connects daily work to higher-level OKRs, which helps managers and ICs see how their work ladders up.
Slack integration
Asana's Slack integration lets you create tasks from any Slack message with one click. You can receive notifications about tasks you're assigned, tasks that are due, or changes to projects you're watching — all delivered directly to Slack. Asana also supports slash commands in Slack for quick task creation without navigating to a board.
Install Asana in Slack →What it is
Trello pioneered the kanban board concept for the masses: lists of cards you drag across columns. It's deliberately simple, which is both its strength and its ceiling. If your team just needs to see what's in progress, what's done, and what's next, Trello gets you there in five minutes with zero onboarding friction. For anything more complex — dependencies, time tracking, reporting — you'll hit the limits quickly.
Slack integration
Trello's Slack integration enables notifications when cards are created, moved, commented on, or assigned — sent to whatever Slack channel you configure. You can also attach a Slack conversation to a Trello card to preserve the context behind a decision. It's lightweight by design, which matches Trello's overall philosophy.
Install Trello in Slack →How to choose
| If you are… | Consider |
|---|---|
| An engineering team running sprints and tracking bugs | Jira — built for exactly this |
| A cross-functional team mixing eng, design, and ops | Asana — flexible enough for all of them |
| A non-technical ops, marketing, or client-services team | Monday.com — highly visual, easy to customize |
| A small team or individual who wants fast setup | Trello — nothing is faster to get running |
The honest answer is that all four are solid. If your team is undecided, pick the one with the most momentum in your organization — if three people already use Asana personally, start there. Adoption is more important than feature parity.
One more layer: recognition
All of these tools track when work gets done, but none of them celebrate it. That's where Swivel fits in: connect any of these tools via Zapier to auto-trigger a spin when a sprint closes, a project ships, or a milestone hits. The work tool captures the event; Swivel turns it into a moment the whole team experiences in Slack.
Celebrate the work, not just the work status
Swivel adds a prize wheel to Slack that can be triggered automatically when your project management tools log a win.
Add Swivel to Slack — Free