Part 4: Why You Should Embrace Asynchronous Communication

Part 4: Asynchronous Communication — The Secret to a Calm and Productive Workplace

This is part 4 in our series about asynchronous and synchronous communication. You can read parts 1, 2, and 3 here.

Imagine a world where it’s perfectly fine to reply to a message a day later.

Where you’re not a slave to notifications.

Where you don’t have to repeat yourself three times just to get your point across.

Sounds dreamy, right?

Well, it’s not a utopia — it’s what happens when a company builds its communication around asynchronous work.

The reason it works?

Strategy. Clarity. Guidelines.

Asynchronous Communication > Synchronous Communication

We’ve all seen the downsides of an always-online culture — endless pings, constant distractions, and that creeping burnout.

When we built lynes, we wanted to do things differently. We wanted to create the foundation for asynchronous communication, because as a digital workplace, we believe in living what we preach.

Our goal: focused work, minimal distractions.

Today, it’s easier than ever for us to spend more time in deep work — and less time hanging out in chat threads.

In the past, we used both Slack and Microsoft Teams. Great tools, sure. But when we were growing rapidly, we quickly realized how exhausting it was to always be “available.”

The biggest problem?

Our phone system, chats, and video calls were completely separate.

When I changed my status in the PBX, I’d forget to update it in the chat — cue a flood of notifications and messages while I was in an actual call. Then the opposite: I’d be in a video meeting and my phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Not ideal.

To avoid retiring at 35, I needed one thing — a unified system.

A place where everything worked together.

And that’s when lynes was born — a tool that combines all your communication in one place. A platform that automatically marks you as busy across all numbers when you’re in a call, and lets you manage notifications effortlessly.

This was how we built the culture we wanted: focus first, async first.

Why it works

In a traditional office, so much information is exchanged casually — over lunch, in the hallway, or during a coffee break.

That information often stays between a few people, even though it could be valuable for the whole team.

When you work asynchronously, especially across locations or time zones, those conversations get documented and shared — that’s the foundation of a true digital workplace.

It doesn’t matter where people are or when they reply.

You send a message now, someone answers during the night, and the work keeps moving. That’s the whole point.

Asynchronous communication is key to effective collaboration across time zones.

“We have offices in Sweden and China. Without clear communication practices, we wouldn’t get much done.”

— Rickard, lynestryck.se

When and how to use asynchronous communication

In short: almost always.

Async should be your go-to method for internal communication.

Here’s how we apply it:

Company updates: Announcements like new hires or organizational changes.
Weekly and monthly summaries: Keep everyone aligned.
Project planning: Product roadmaps, sprints, next steps.
Discussions: Marketing campaigns, new features, forecasts.
Feedback: On beta versions, new tools, or internal policies.

What tools do you need?

People often ask us, “Which app do you use?”

We built lynes to make focused, distraction-free work possible — but async isn’t about the app, it’s about the method.

Yes, you could use email, but it’s about 1000x harder to get right.

To make it easy, use tools that support:

Threaded conversations
Reactions and comments
Customizable notifications

(And yes, it helps if that tool happens to be called lynes.)

Our stack looks like this:

Communication & collaboration: lynes
Marketing & design: Sketch, Adobe, WordPress, OneNote
Support: lynes, Zendesk, TeamViewer
Project management: Trello

The Asynchronous Commandments

Call them commandments or ground rules — but you need them.

A successful async culture doesn’t appear overnight. Expect some sighs, resistance, and a few grumbles. But hang in there — they’ll come around. Before long, those skeptics will be your biggest advocates.

Here are our golden rules:

1. Clarity is everything

Agree on response times. We aim for within 18 hours — longer than that risks creating bottlenecks.

Deadlines must also be crystal clear. Always specify both date, time, and time zone:

✅ Due: Tuesday, March 30 at 16:00 CET

❌ Due: Tuesday

And be transparent about availability — vacation, sick days, meetings, you name it.

In lynes, we manage all of this directly in the app. You can even customize notifications to enjoy your time off without missing anything truly important.

2. Be organized and structured

Think like a librarian (the super-organized kind).

Everyone should have access to the information they need — no silos, no hunting through threads.

Keep chat channels consistent, use threads properly, and store files where they belong.

We’ve spent years refining our setup — from SharePoint libraries to Trello boards and internal knowledge bases — so every department can find what they need instantly.

When you organize properly, you eliminate the need for synchronous communication.

Because when everything’s where it should be, you don’t need to ask where things are.

3. Overcommunicate — then overcommunicate again

Async work doesn’t happen in real time, so your writing must be clear, complete, and impossible to misunderstand.

Undercommunication:

“Can you send the campaign report when you have a chance?”

Overcommunication:

“Can you send a Google Ads report for all active campaigns this quarter? I need it by Friday at 13:00 CET. Please include keywords, CTR, CPC, and impressions. Thanks!”

Tips for mastering overcommunication:

Avoid acronyms unless everyone knows them.
Use screenshots and visuals to explain complex points.
Annotate images to clarify details.
Include dates and time zones.
Reference or link related discussions.
Never assume anything — assumptions slow everything down.

4. Guide your discussions

Async discussions can stretch for days if no one takes charge.

Include decision-makers early to avoid circular debates.

Agree on who has authority to make final calls — it speeds everything up.

5. Be transparent

Transparency is everything in digital workplaces.

If information isn’t shared, people can’t do their jobs properly.

Have as many discussions as possible in public team channels, not private chats.

That way, everyone can follow along and learn.

How to boost transparency:

Keep discussions open and accessible.
Summarize weekly highlights for everyone.
Use dashboards so teams can track progress in real time.

Transparency builds trust — and trust fuels productivity.

Ignoring these principles kills productivity.

Following them builds a culture of openness, focus, and mutual respect.

And just like that…

The tale of asynchronous communication comes to an end.

But don’t worry — we’ve got one last chapter waiting for you:

👉 Part 5 – A Summary of Everything We’ve Learned.

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