Why the four-minute reply makes sense

Nobody answers a work email at ten past nine because they've thought it through and decided that's the best use of the evening. They answer because the phone lit up, they knew the answer, and answering was the shortest route back to the sofa. It's worth being honest about what the four-minute reply gives you, because a habit that gave you nothing wouldn't be a habit.

It gives you closure. A question arrived, and now it hasn't. The open thing is shut, and shutting things is satisfying at a level that has nothing to do with work. It gives you relief from the wonder, because once you've looked you know there's nothing worse in there. It gives you the feeling of being reliable, the sort of person who's on it, whose colleagues never wait. It gives you a small head start on tomorrow, one less thing in the morning. And it gives you a sense of control, because a message you've answered can't ambush you, and the evening feels safer with the inbox watched.

Underneath those there's usually a set of beliefs, and they're the chapters that follow. That a reliable person replies quickly. That it's quicker to deal with it now than have it hanging. That the sender is waiting for an answer tonight. That not answering looks like not coping. That the boss sends at ten, so that's the culture. That it's only two minutes. That if you don't reply someone else will and get the credit. That being reachable is the price of the flexibility you've been given. That you'd rather know than wonder. And that a nod doesn't count. Each of those has something true in it, and each is doing the same job, which is making the four-minute reply look like the only sensible response to the buzz.

The buzz is real and the question in it is usually real. This book isn't going to tell you the message didn't matter. It's going to look at whether it mattered tonight, which is a different question, and at what your answer teaches the person who sent it. Then it'll look at what the habit costs, which is more than minutes and isn't mainly about you. And then it'll give you a way to decide when you reply, so that the phone stops being the thing in the room that decides your evening.