Crickets

I delay sending an email because to send an email may mean more email, more work, more time I don't have. Weeks go by. Months, in some cases. I finally write the email — set aside time to deal with the work — then crickets. No reply. Then comes a reply and we talk, then silence. Then another email conversation while the time I set aside passes. Now I wish I had emailed someone else. Someone more immediate.I sent a message the other night. The answer was simple. "Yes. I am available in two weeks."Short, positive, reliable. More than willing to take my money. No long sentences about being busy, or maybe later in the fall, or further questions. I'll send the brief and it will be done. And so we have worked together for years.Some people treat your time like their own. Others don't.