Don’t forget messages — or their senders
A monthly timebox fixes this problem too
TLDR: We forget to respond to messages from friends and family and it can disappoint them; timeboxing eradicates this
Word count: 270 words
Read time: 3 mins
This is the fourth of a six-part series on Not-forgetting. Please share this email with friends who might use their time more intentionally.
Right now, we have instant access to virtually everyone we’ve ever known, and many more people we’ve never known. But this ease of communication has its downsides. Many of us receive more messages than we can manage. Some messages are answered immediately. Some are safely (indeed, rightly!) ignored. But some are unintentionally and regrettably overlooked.
Currently you probably have quite a few such ignored messages on your phone and in the cloud. Check your messages (SMS, WhatsApp, email). How many are there? Too many to count?
This can cause problems:
Unnecessary upset: Ignored messages can lead to unnecessary upset for friends, family, and colleagues.
Missed positive interactions: We miss out needlessly on positive social interactions. It’s a shame to waste opportunities to connect with people we care about, especially when we might not see them often again.
The solution: monthly, recurring timeboxes
The solution is simple. Using WhatsApp as the example:
Set a monthly reminder: Schedule a monthly reminder to check your WhatsApp messages. Allocating 30 minutes should be ample.
Keep important messages marked unread: Mark messages you need to return to as unread.
Monthly WhatsApp round-up: When the scheduled timebox occurs, deal with all your unread messages in one go.
By following this method, you’ll never give more than a month's offence or miss out on more than a month’s fun.
Set a monthly recurring timebox for unintentionally neglected messages now. Save or enhance a relationship or two.
(I recommend a monthly timebox, but this can be adjusted based on your needs. This strategy is part of a collection of essential timeboxes with different recommended cadences. More on that in a few weeks’ time.)
Marc
Links you may like
7 days of Timeboxing (the free email micro-course)
Timeboxing, the book (US)
Timeboxing, the book (UK)
My Insta for shorter-form content
Connect with me on LinkedIn (I will say yes!)