Your Email Does Not Constitute My Emergency
你的电子邮件并不是我的紧急事项
By Adam Grant
One morning last summer， I sent a rough draft of a speech to a colleague for feedback. Even though she was away at a conference， she sent me her initial comments that very evening.“Sorry for the delay，“ she wrote. I hadn't expected to hear back from her that week. She wasn't late. But she felt the need to apologize anyway.
去年夏天的一个早上，我给一位同事发了一份演讲稿的粗略草稿，想要听听她的反馈。尽管当时她外出参加会议，但她还是在当天晚上，就给我回复了初步反馈，并写道：“抱歉耽搁了。”我其实根本没有指望在当周就收到同事的回复，所以她并不算“耽搁”了。但无论如何，她觉得有必要道歉。
Apologizing for slow replies is a symptom of unrealistic demands in an always-on culture. Work is presumed to be the dominant force in our lives. Instead of making space for leisure and rest， we have to keep monitoring our communication channels， ready to drop everything at any time. Being reachable around the clock means living at the mercy of other people's calendars. It's a recipe for burnout. And it prizes shallow reactions over deep reflection. We wind up rushing to get things done instead of doing them well.
因回复慢了而道歉，其实是在“永远在线”的职场文化中各种不切实际要求的一个体现。工作被假定是我们生活中的主宰力量。不仅无法腾出休闲和休息的时间，我们还得时刻关注各个沟通渠道，随时准备放下一切去响应工作。全天候在线，就意味着你的生活完全受别人日程的支配。而这就是工作倦怠的根源。这种文化更看重肤浅的即时回应，而非审慎的思考。最终导致我们急着把事情做完，而不是把事情做好。
When we place too high a priority on the speed of our email replies， we destroy our ability to focus. Interruptions derail our train of thought and wreak havoc on our progress. When you know you don’t have to reply to emails right away， you can actually find flow and dedicate your full attention where you wish.
当我们过分看重回复邮件的速度时，其实是破坏了我们的专注力。各种干扰会打乱我们的思路，严重阻碍我们的工作进展。当你知道自己不必立即回复邮件时，你才能真的进入心流状态，并将全部注意力集中在自己想做的事情上。
Resetting the expectation that we all live on-demand lives will require a broader culture change. A first step is for everyone to stop mistaking promptness for politeness.
想要重置这种所有人都活在随时响应状态下的预期，就需要更加广泛的职场文化变革。而第一步就是，让每个人都不要再把即时响应误认为是职场礼仪。
How quickly people answer you is rarely a sign of how much they care about you. It's usually a reflection of how much they have on their plate. Delayed replies to emails， texts and calls are often symptoms of being overextended and overwhelmed.
人们回复你的速度有多快，并不代表他们就有多关心你。通常来说，这只是反映了他们手上有多少事情。而延迟回复邮件、短信和电话，往往是过度劳累和不堪重负的表现。
For most of human history， being responsive meant paying attention to the needs of a small group of people in your immediate vicinity. Now there's no limit to the number of people who can barge into your inbox. Digital overload cries out for us to redefine what it means to be responsive. The true test of a relationship isn’t the speed of the reply. It's the quality of attention you receive.
在人类历史的大部分时间里，积极响应意味着关注自己身边一小撮人的需求。而现在，闯入你收件箱的人数没有了限制。数字超载迫切需要我们重新定义什么是“响应”。真正考验一段关系的不是回复信息的速度，而是你所受到关注的质量。
Every time someone apologizes for a slow reply， seize the opportunity to reset norms. When my colleague said she was sorry， I replied，“Apology rejected!“ And yes， I sent that one right away.
每当有人因为回复迟了而道歉时，要抓住这个机会，重新设定规则。在我同事说她很抱歉时，我就回复说：“你的道歉被退回了！”并且没错，我立即发送了这条信息。