Have you mailed me recently?

If you have then you’d know that I don’t take long to reply.

I reply to almost all your emails right after I see them.

Not because I am laying around binge-watching Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

Or is it because the reply to emails is my favorite pastime? Far from it.

I do it because I don’t want to remember to reply later to keep my mental space clogged. I can, of course, snooze it, but then again I have to reply to it later.

I also do it because a fast response is a sign of respect. 

There are other reasons and benefits too

Most emails are asking for advice so I can use that to articulate my thoughts on that topic and use that later for blog posts, and then I can use them for my books and talks.

I reply to client emails fast because that’s good business. I have self-enforced boundaries there.

And, for other emails, I don’t want to be the bottleneck. If due to my fast response someone can move fast I am happy about it.

The exceptions are times, when I am deep working on a project, like a book, or when I need a lot of time to think through before I reply.

I am able to do it because I see replying as a privilege.

I also do it knowing well that most people don’t act on advice, but if 1 person out of 100 acts on it and find value, I am happy. And, I know there are people who act. 

If you email more, you’ll get more emails. I work around this by telling people to act on advice and report. So, this filters those who are passing time.

And, I am happy to receive a note from you. You can write to me here.