We are obsessed with immediacy. At some point we started to expect that we’d all be notified, immediately, and then react to notifications for things that carry no urgency at all. Only this morning I was asked if I’d read an email only five minutes after it had been sent. This is not how I use email. It’s not how I use messaging apps.
More importantly though, this is not how I expect you to use messaging apps. Unless I explicitly indicate the need for a timely response then please don’t rush, take your time. Slow down.
Ploum has picked up on this.
“This is a trend I’m witnessing, probably caused by the addiction to instant messaging. Most of the emails I receive these days contain some sort of apology. I received an apology from someone who took five hours to reply to what was a cold and unimportant email. I received apologies in what was a reply to a reply I had sent only a couple of days earlier.”
I want you to know that you don’t need to apologise for taking the time to reply to me. Expectations around immediacy should not be the norm that we accept.
Read the full post by Ploum: Do not apologize for replying late to my email