Do you get too many messages in your inbox that are unnecessary or irritating? It takes a lot of time to delete all of them or to remember to come back to some of them.
I keep falling for the survey on which the company or city council or candidate specifically needs my opinion only to discover at the end it is all about getting a donation.
Then there is the message sent to 200 people.
I keep getting offers for cheaper car insurance even though I don’t have a car.
I have found that it is impossible to unsubscribe from political action committees or retailers. Hitting UNSUBSCRIBE means that I read their post and now I will get more!
What if we were to add a personal note at the bottom of our e-mail? Consider these sample personal messages:
I want to respect your time and for you to respect mine. I am not reading or responding to messages outside my normal workhours, including weekends.
There may be a delay in my reply. I have long haul covid and the many treatment protocols tire me out.
Be assured that I am reading your message on my large print screen. However, due to needing more time to write and revise my current project and to have some rest periods, I may not answer you for several days or, if it doesn’t seem necessary, not at all. Don’t take this personally. In respect for your priorities, I will not expect you to answer me the same day either.
Prompt for writing:
Compose what you would like to say or shout to others in order to protect your time and attention. This can also apply to frequent phone callers who go on and on. It is okay to be blunt on a first draft. You can doctor it later if you chose to append a personal statement to the bottom of your messages. Congratulations for caring for yourself.