So the first work week of 2011 is here and so commences the great email games.
1) Monday email: Reserved for very few. You're all pumped up about your resolutions, have new projects you want to get off the ground, or inject life into old ones and need to start reaching out to folks to get things moving. But....what may be a priority to you ain't always priority to someone else. In fact, by sending the Monday email you could just sabotaging yourself because if it's going to get ignored by the recipient, inevitably it's gonna lose energy and momentum as more prioritized emails and projects pile on top of it. In short: be wary of the Monday email.
Meanwhile, be equally wary of the Monday emails you respond to. Because whatever emails you get, someone is sending you a message too. The instant response may be well received but it certainly opens the door. You've just approved that other person chasing you.
2) Tuesday email: Still in priority email, but less risky than the premature ejaculatory Monday email, if you know what I mean. This is a "hey - this is important to me, but I didn't necessarily spend my whole holiday obsessing over it" message. Remains tricky territory because a Tuesday email that goes unreciprocated by the end of the week is a real downer. It's an electronic break-up buzz kill at that point. Also be wary of the perverse employers who only started up Tuesdays - Tuesdays are their Mondays which throws off EVERYTHING.
As for Monday emails that you received, Tuesday is the day to digest them and consider the response depending on where it falls in your hierarchy. The Tuesday response says "hey - I got it, I read it, I'm on it" without sounding desperate.
3) Wednesday email: Midweek emails are never a bad thing. "Hey - Happy New Year blah blah blah..." You're important enough to me that I'm emailing you the first week of 2011, but let's date before we get married, ya'know? However, if indeed you're communicating something that it is a super priority to you and you're only dispatching the missive on Weds, you're walking a fine line. Because Weds emails are definitely not messages that say: "holy $hit, this means EVERYTHING to me!" You're almost forcing the other party to react soberly and not get too jacked up less they look like they're the ones who've been longing for your email.
In terms of responding on Weds, play it by ear. Not much downside to the Weds response, but since the end of the week is already within sight, it is what it is. As in, "it's unlikely that I'm going to do much of a deep dive on this thing until next week." More than any day, the words in the Weds email must be selected very wisely.
4) Thursday email: You're acknowledging someone else's existence which is good, not showing desperation, possibly saying "hey - am excited about this but know it's gonna take real work. Let's talk early next week." That's what Thursday is - a tee up for next week. But don't tee it up and then fumble the snap because then you're just killing the whole thing. In other words, Thursdays need to be handled with care.
Likewise, the Thursday response is a measured one which is generally a good thing. You're telling someone you care, but you're not exactly sending a dozen roses. If that's your game, then go for it. But be aware, the luster is off the hardware by Thursday. Make it meaningful but don't be condescending.
5) Friday email: It's the booty call email. I mean come on, really. It's a "hey - let's keep in touch" sort of thing, and "since I've cleared the decks of everyone else who is important to me, I'm now just playing out the half and seeing if I land a hail mary." It's the email equivalent of the 5 PM Friday meeting. In fact, Friday emails should really only be left to confirming next week's appointments. Seriously Friday emails are end of the night, too many drinks down, horny emails - nothing good really can come of them.
The Friday response is equally low. If you must, keep it short and quick because you're at least minimizing the risk of doing anything irredeemable. If the point is to cut if off or end it altogether, by all means hold out and send the response Friday night after hours. By that time, you're already being cursed out by the email sender, and you're just adding to the tab. Just use protection because you never know.
Now, as for phone calls....
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