Before I went on summer vacation from work, I was asking a coworker for help with an urgent PR. I needed to merge the frontend component in order to get the whole feature out. (It was a full-stack project.)
I shot off “when you get a chance” at the end of the message.
And I waited. And waited. And waited.
When I checked back to see if they had read the message or not, that little qualification, the throw-away prefix, glared at me.
And it hit me. Well… I said to him, when you get a chance. So, right now he can’t look at it.
So, I sent off two messages in a single message – this is urgent and WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE NO PRESSURE.
I went back and edited the message, apologizing for my lack of clarity and double messaging. Then, I made it clear that I would appreciate his help with him as soon as he can.
I got the approval I needed to move forward.
A really fascinating moment in how we communicate and how throwaway phrases can betray our intentions.
