Speediness dont work fast enough5/3/2023 I tried this approach and found people appreciated that I even took the time to reach back in such a time-crunched state. She’ll know that you’re not ignoring her rather you’re preoccupied and need a couple of days before you can give her email your full attention. By sharing what’s on your plate, you make it possible for your connection to empathize with your workload. But she’s less likely to be offended if you tell her you can’t because you’re busy preparing for a meeting (or some other totally valid excuse, such as wrapping up projects before your vacation). Think about it: If someone stops by your desk to brainstorm, she’ll probably be thrown off if you say “no” and then turn back to your keyboard. When you’re putting off a request, people often to like to know why. ![]() And if you beat that date, you’re no longer the person who took five days to respond: You’re the person who said she’d need a week but replied two days early. However, if you write him back right away clarifying when you will be in touch, it seems like it was really important to you to provide a timeline as soon as humanly possible.īy setting an expectation for when he can expect a thorough response, you’re being thoughtful. If you simply wait a week to get back to someone, he’ll assume you considered it a low priority-and that doesn’t make anyone feel good. And the best way to do it is-in the words of the popular adage-under-promise, over-deliver. Informing people on the front end allows you to bypass confusion and frustration. I had a former boss who always stressed the importance of managing expectations. It satisfies the other person that I’m on it, gives me time to follow up when it works according to my schedule, and gets me that much closer to inbox zero. I aim to reply within 24 hours (if not much sooner), with a line that buys me some time. There’s a trick I recently fell into that has solved this problem for me. Or, you can just take your time, but you’ll have left the other person wondering and waiting. You can “confirm receipt,” but that sounds super formal, and there’s no telling when the other person will prod you with a note that roughly translates to, “And…?” You can leave an auto-responder on 24-7, but that may not be your style-and you’re still not providing a specific answer. ![]() The standard solutions for this situation all kind of suck. Or you want to word your response a certain way and would like to wait until you’re fresh. Or there’s a five-page attachment for your review-and so you’ll need to review it. Someone asked for your opinion, and you’d like to take the time to formulate it. And in your defense, that’s because you receive messages that require lengthy or thoughtful responses.
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