Does EVERYTHING Need An Immediate Response?
“I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”
How often have you spent time first thing in the morning (or at the end of the previous day) planning your time, only to have it all messed up responding to last-minute requests?
For me, this happened way more often than I’d like, and I often felt guilty not responding right away to whatever comes across my desk or screen.
When I first started my consulting practice, I felt the need to respond to everything right away. And then I’d get to the end of the day or the week wondering where all the time went and why I didn’t get anything done.
For the next few weeks, I stepped back and paid attention to how others responded to me and to each other. So many people that I admire didn’t seem to be caught up in the endless cycle of immediate responses, and I wanted to learn how they managed.
Those few weeks were eye-opening. I saw so many strategies for acknowledging requests and managing expectations, but I couldn’t possibly implement them all. I tried a few—some worked and some didn’t—and landed on the key strategies that work for me.
First, let go of immediacy.
If you read my post on managing notifications, you know that I have certain times when I check email and respond to messages. One of the things I learned observing how others respond is that everyone does it on their own schedule—and it really doesn’t matter (unless you never respond at all—that’s not cool). So let go of the self-imposed “I have to respond to everything right away” rule. Unless your work truly involves life-and-death decisions, immediacy is not an absolute requirement.
Acknowledge and set expectations.
During my email/message time, I will often respond with, “Got it. I’ll be back to you shortly.” This lets the requestor know that I got their request, and I will be back to them with more info soon. Then, I can assess how long the request will take to complete, schedule/prioritize it with the other things on my plate, and respond with, “Thanks for your request. I can have that to you by __________.”
Deliver.
Once expectations are set, it’s important to deliver. This helps the requestor feel confident that their request will be addressed, and builds trust that you’ll do what you say you will when you say you will do it. This trust reinforces your ability to respond on your own schedule.
Try it.
Take some over the next few weeks and try some strategies to help you get off the treadmill of immediacy. If you’ve already got some tips that work for you, drop them in the comments!
