#WorkLifeBalance #CommunicationSkills #Productivity #EmailEtiquette
Hey there! 👋 Have you ever found yourself constantly responding to messages immediately, whether it’s emails, texts, or calls? Well, here’s a little piece of advice for you: Don’t ALWAYS respond right away.
It’s totally understandable to want to stay on top of things and be prompt in your replies. However, there are a few reasons why it might be beneficial to take a step back and not always be so quick to respond:
### Reasons to Pause Before Responding
1. **Avoid the Workaholic Label:** If you’re always responding immediately, it can give off the impression that you’re a workaholic with no chill. People might start assuming that you have nothing else going on besides work.
2. **Show That You Have a Life:** By intentionally letting some messages wait before responding, you’re showing that you have a life outside of work or your phone. It’s important for others to know that you’re not available 24/7.
### Benefits of Delayed Responses
– **Creates a Boundary:** Setting a boundary between work and personal time is essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
– **Allows for Focused Work:** Constantly interrupting your work to respond to messages can disrupt your focus and productivity. By waiting to respond, you can better prioritize your tasks.
### How to Implement Delayed Responses
1. **Prioritize Urgent Messages:** If a message is truly urgent, of course, respond promptly. But for non-urgent messages, it’s okay to wait before replying.
2. **Set Expectations:** Let your colleagues, friends, or family know that you might not always respond immediately, but you’ll get back to them in a reasonable amount of time.
3. **Use Do Not Disturb:** Consider using the Do Not Disturb feature on your phone or email notifications to prevent constant interruptions.
### The Perception of Immediate Responses
While it may seem like responding immediately is a sign of efficiency, it can actually have unintended consequences:
– **Perceived Availability:** Always being available to respond immediately can give others the impression that you have nothing else going on or that you’re constantly checking your messages.
– **Lack of Boundaries:** When you consistently respond immediately, it can blur the lines between work and personal time, making it challenging to disconnect and recharge.
### Conclusion
So, next time you receive a message that doesn’t require an immediate response, consider taking a bit of time before replying. By doing so, you’re not only setting boundaries and maintaining a healthy work-life balance but also showing others that you have a life outside of your inbox.
Remember, it’s okay to prioritize your well-being and focus on what truly matters. Don’t let the fear of missing out or appearing unavailable drive you to constantly respond immediately. Take a breather, enjoy your downtime, and respond when you’re ready.💬
And there you have it! Some food for thought from your friendly Internet Dad. Take care and remember to give yourself the gift of time before hitting that reply button. Stay balanced, stay focused, and stay awesome! 🌟
Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic and how you plan to implement delayed responses in your day-to-day communication. Let’s start a conversation on the importance of setting boundaries and maintaining a healthy work-life balance!
Personally I go by the 3 minute rule. If it is going to take 3 minutes or less to get the job done, I do it right then as there is no point putting it off. My email is open all day, unless I’m sharing on a call I will see it right away. I would rather get the person what they need so they can continue with their work than worry about what other people think I am doing with my time.
This goes for work and things like putting the dish in the dishwasher instead of the sink.
Also, it’s good to let your ideas marinate a little while if necessary. Especially if the email gets an emotional reaction out of you, wait until you’ve had time to think it through rationally rather than putting in writing something that is a knee jerk reaction.Â
If I don’t respond right away, I forget and end up not responding for a day or so. I get side tracked easily.
Edit: yes I know about the scheduling email send time thing. But I also have never worked a job that required a bunch of emails, but the few I have had, I just send that shit right away too.
Get that shit outta the way and not worry about it. Just always re-read your shit to make sure it sounds acceptable.
This is where delayed delivery features come in handy. I tend to do a little work in the evenings and on weekends to keep my inbox under control and so I don’t forget or overlook something. But that’s my choice and I certainly don’t want my clients (or colleagues, but clients are the real problem) thinking they have access to me 24/7. Â
So when I’m responding to emails outside of my business hours, I just delay delivery and no one is the wiser. Â
I was told I was expected to answer emails within 5 minutes AT THE MOST at my last job and then they laid me off.
Get comfortable with your email program’s Delay Send function.
If I see an email come in that is a quick fix to answer a question, I will delay the send by at least 15 mins. It doesn’t interrupt my workflow and I don’t come across as a workaholic like OP said.
This is honestly so dumb its mindboggeling.
Why cant people mind their own business for 5 minutes without judging other people.
We should all just be happy to get a quick response, saves time for both him and you.
This sounds so much like the immature chasing game on dating apps, dont respond too quickly or you will seem desperate…
There is also the 3rd point.
Something going wrong? Need something? Fires to put out, They are always going to come to you!
another good reason to delay responding is that sometimes the problem/reason/etc. solves itself without you having to do anything.
Scheduled Send is your friend.
I’ve learned to ignore certain questions from certain coworkers for at least a couple hours. Is usually after they don’t get the quick answer they want, they do their leg work themselves and learn something.
Personally, I’d rather not get pinged with notifications so much. I’m too antsy and fidgety.
So an alternative tip is: : Turn off notifications so you’re not triggered every instant a message comes through. Check your emails or text messages at certain times of day when you feel you can focus on them. This helps with giving yourself private, quite space to do whatever uninterrupted, and dedicated time to be thoughtfully responding.
What kind of immature mind is giving out this life pro tip, OP?
What pray tell is a “vibe?” And what in god’s hell is “workaholic with no chill?” Are these terms from business school?
I take pride in responding fairly quick to emails, for coworkers and external emails. I would love to get the same in return, which is why I treat people how I’d like to be treated.
If people want to take your advice, you can write the email and in Outlook go to options and select a delayed delivery. You can select the date and time you want it to be sent.
The more email you send, the more email you get. If you will forget, use the schedule send for an appropriate amount of time.
Being too responsive is absolutely a liability in an office setting. You just have to know who deserves an immediate answer and who needs to chill a minute. A lot of questions answer themselves if you give people a minute.
What kind of toxic work environment are you in that you need to look busy or people will think less of you?
Yeah this is just a bad tip
I love how both are the complete opposite of each other with nothing in between
Largely depends on your position slash what you do, but the people emailing you for help are not the people who make overhead decisions based on apparent workload.
They are in the middle of a project. They have a question. If you answer right away, they don’t need to put down that project. You just saved the company a lot of time. Answer right away
Terrible advice!
Assuming what people may think about you…
Took me YEARS to learn this one. So true. Immediate response is not required. Slow down, think about it.
I couldn’t disagree with this more. I LOVE when people respond immediately. I find most people who don’t respond to texts right away is because they read it, were too busy to respond and then totally forgot about the conversation until the next time they want to text me.
As for work e-mail, again, if I send someone an e-mail I love when they respond promptly. It prevents delays in whatever I need to get done that required their action or input. Slow responders drive me nuts and I think negative thoughts of them and actively avoid having to work with them if I can help it.
Plus, you really shouldn’t let what people might think of you affect what you want to do. If I get passed up for promotion for being too responsive, so be it.
That being said, automated delayed response to messages you send outside business hours is totally awesome to avoid people thinking they can take advantage of you on your off hours.
I stand by the 24 hour rule is reasonable for work e-mails. I some times get e-mails saying I need your help come see me asap, which I see 16 hours after it was sent. I have a phone, call me
Usually when I don’t respond right away, it just means I didn’t see it right away for some reason. Luckily no one has blown up at me for it, but then, most of my closest associates are rational people who know that I have a job and stuff going on.
Instructions unclear. Waited 20 minutes to respond to my boss’s email spilling the tea. He got insecure and felt stupid. Fired me before he thought I had a chance to read it out of shame. I’m confused when the tip comes.
I keep my email closed and only open it at specific times when Im busy working on something. I will respond to emails during that time only.
Times
Start of Day
Before or after lunch
End of day
If it is urgent, I have a phone or slack.
i totally get that people exist, who’ll get the wrong impression from folks whose response is always speedy
but seeming connected and punctual is only secondary to feeling you’ve collaborated / contributed to the best of your abilities, so other people’s work can proceed more smoothly
Thanks internet dad! I needed to see this today.