with the simplified inbox :) 5 years ago

I’m completely terrible at this. I see I have new emails and let them sit there for days, weeks, months, before even opening them. One time I took over a year to reply to someone who I’m supposed to be a friend of!

How come people reply back so quickly though – you think you’ve cleared everything and get a huge sense of relief, and then the next day dozens of replies come flying in so you can never be up-to-date with anything. 6 years ago

I have got to be the WORST person ever in this department…if there’s one thing people complain about to me, it’s “you NEVER call back!!!” and it’s so true! I have no idea what’s wrong with me. like, I’ll listen to my voicemails, say, “ok cool”, put my phone back in my purse and walk away, only to forget them. I guess I just have to be in the mood to talk on the phone? haha I don’t know I’m such a wierdo…but anyway, since the boy I like has the same issue and I’ve seen how annoying it is from the other side, I’ve been getting better…wish me luck! :) 6 years ago

I can say that I have been returning emails and calls rather quickly now, when it used to be weeks before I would get off my ass to contact someone. It can sometimes be a real hassle to contact certain people but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. 7 years ago

returning phone messages and e-mails in a timely fashion give people a good impression. thumbs up on this one. 7 years ago

Yeah i hate returning calls, hell i even suck at checking my answering machine because I don’t feel like hearing their voices “uh thanks for calling me back you jerk” ha maybe i should make a better effort huh? I am good at text messaging though…that should count for something. Oh just reminded me to RSVP to some shitty Evite…ugggh! 7 years ago

My friends email and call me about 3 times before I get back to them or answer their calls. This goes along with my motivation goal becuase I’m not a phone person most the time I don’t want to sit on the phone and try to think of things to say so it’s not acward therefore I let it go to voicemail and most the time don’t return their calss. I also do this with email I don’t want to reply right away and then I get more emails and I forget about it. I really need to work on this to keep friendships stronger. 7 years ago

basically im just keeping up w/ friends via email and phone more, and making a conscious effort to do so. i dont think i should have to respond immediately, i have the right to some time! so yeah, i can mark this as done and ill keep it in mind. 7 years ago

phone calls & emails are requests, not demands.

I don’t need to reply right away if that’s not what I really want to do.

If I don’t get back to people right away, they can wait.

We can all learn patience. :-)

I want more freedom for me & for everyone! 7 years ago

i honestly just procrastinate even listening to my messages, and when i do i procrastinate returning them. its a pretty bad habit because i’d like to be a little more dependable. im gonna start listening and returning my messages in the same day i get them! 7 years ago

...and when someone leaves a voice message on your cellphone’s machine, please stop waiting at least three days before hearing it :) 7 years ago

which i started four months ago and the effects of which i am currently enjoying. the hardest part is getting started. i did it cold turkey in reverse. 7 years ago

I’m losing touch with online friends, it takes me a week to respond to comments on 43things, LJ, Tabulas, EMAIL!!

Whooo boy, this’ll take work. 8 years ago

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve gotten my main mailbox down to the lowest level in probably 5 or even 10 years. I’ve maintained it at a lower level than it’s been in at least 6 to 8 months, and have been getting back to phone calls quickly. It’s looking like it’s going to be directly rewarding with additional business for our company.

Plus, having less in my mail box and fewer outstanding contacts has really helped me concentrate on other things and feel more caught up.

Sean 8 years ago

Over the last week I’ve been doing a fairly good job. My main mailbox, where all the important stuff goes, I was able to get down to 6 items last week. The lowest it’s been in at least 3 to 5 years, possibly even longer. I haven’t had it under 10 items in the last 6 to 12 months. So, it’s a pretty big accomplishment.

Some of it is that I’ve moved things out of my mailbox into a reminder system if I don’t have to deal with them right now, and into a nag system if I need to do a number of followups on it.

Sean 8 years ago