“Hey girl! What’s up!”
(Crickets. Crickets. No response.)
(3 hours later):
“Want to meet up later?”
(Crickets. Crickets. No response.)
We’ve all had one of those texts.
You know: Those friends you try to connect with, who simply don’t respond back.
The worst: You see their text message status, marked as “Read,” but for whatever reason, they leave you hanging.
No: “Can I text you later?”
No: “Great to hear from you!”
No: “Sounds great, but I am busy.”
Nothing.
Perhaps you’ve even been that text—the non-responder.
We’ve all been there.
But it sucks to be on the other side.
There are many valid reasons people don’t respond or follow-through—not just to a text, but to an e-mail, an invite or a promise they make to “get back to you” (but then they don’t), including:
- The noise and clutter of hundreds of messages out there daily (texts, Facebook, Instagram, tweets, e-mails, phone calls)
- We get lazy
- We get busy
- People don’t like doing hard things (Saying “No” or responding can sometimes be tough)
However, when you consider the facts that:
- 90% of all text messages are read in under 3 minutes. (Connect Mogul)
- The average Millennial exchanges an average of 67 text messages per day (Business Insider)
- And, it takes the average person 90 minutes to respond to email, but only 90 seconds to respond to a text message. (CTIA)
- Americans sent 69,000 texts every second in 2012 (CTIA)
- Texting is the most widely-used and frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97% of Americans using it at least once a day. (Pew Internet)
- The average adult spends a total of 23 hours a week texting (USA Today)
…It doesn’t always make sense (why people don’t respond to YOU).
Enter: Your #thrivelife project today:
Respond timely—whatever that means for you.
No, you don’t need to be on your email all day long.
However, when a question, thought or exchange comes up, at the very least, show a little courtesy.
Keep your word, and follow through.
Just today—at least.
Bonus: Productivity Hack
Schedule allotted email checking times for the day—and when it’s not that time, get outta there. During your check-time, respond or delete the inbox messages right away. For reply emails, if the response is going to take longer than 2-3 sentences (at most), shoot them a quick e-mail letting them know you saw it, and put that email in a folder to come back to at another allotted time when you “knock out” email responses. Otherwise, as a general rule of thumb, if the response takes longer than 2-3 sentences, consider a phone chat to prevent the never ending e-mail black hole.
Boom.