I sit at a computer all day. So, email is naturally a convenient way for me to communicate. I’m just a few points, clicks, and keystrokes away from firing off a message on Gmail.
However, as hard it is for me to believe, I need to remind myself that not everyone sits at a computer all day long. There are those of you who have jobs that involve such extreme activities as
1) Operating on patients
2) Handling animals
3) Performing work outdoors (gasp!)
4) Walking
I believe I saw some of these jobs on The Learning Channel or something.
So, since all of you aren’t planted at a comp, I shouldn’t freak when someone doesn’t reply within 4.34 seconds of me sending an email. It doesn’t mean that the recipient doesn’t like me or has printed out my email and is showing everyone how poorly I typ or has blocked me for requesting their bank account number to help my Nigerian cousin who just won the lottery.
Along those lines, here’s some advice: Avoid conducting life-changing business via email. The anticipation is brain-frying.
As I’ve been emailing potential employers, I’ve worn out the refresh button on Firefox, hoping that each click would give me the boldfaced New Message that I’ve been waiting for. I’m getting unnerved just thinking about it.
I never was much of a phone guy, but I think I need to get back to the basics.
1) Call someone.
2) Ask a question.
3) Get an answer.
So simple and direct and personable. And it’s as easy as looking up their number in Google.
And reaching over to the phone.
And picking up the receiver.
And holding it to my ear.
And pressing 1.
Then 8.
Then 0.
Then, oh forget it
I’ll just email ‘em.
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Wow, I could have written this post! I work from home on the computer, so I am also ALWAYS checking my email, and my response time is in the milliseconds! I even have 2 screens, one of which is dedicated to email, so I don’t have to toggle between my work website and my email. Then I have a cell phone that also shows me my emails! I have friends who don’t email much, and honestly it doesn’t work so well because I’m so much better at email communicating than picking up the phone to call. Sad isn’t it!
You just made me feel a lot better about myself!
i bet theres a support group out there for people like you.
I consider it a gift…yeah, a gift. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
Haha, Kristen – it’s definitely a gift!
Although…maybe I say that only because I’m pretty much addicted to e-mail myself!
And CD, I’m so guilty of emailing something when I should just call. But the way I see it, I’m just trying to make life more convenient for the other person. After all, it’s way easier to send back an email than to call someone back or *gasp* actually answer the phone.
Right? No? Well, I still like email better.