It’s a familiar feeling to us all \u2014 that\u00a0sickening sense of panic after hitting send on an email we shouldn\u2019t even have written.<\/p>\n
Maybe you noticed a major typo that it\u2019s too late to fix, or went off half-cocked on a client because you were cranky.\u00a0Whatever the reason, we all have an email or two haunting us from the past or sending a shiver down our spines at the mere memory. Unfortunately, the repercussions of some destructive late-night emails can impact your career.<\/p>\n
Remember, you\u2019re being judged.<\/p>\n
In a world dominated by digital communication, sometimes email or text is the only form of communication you and a client or manager\u00a0may ever have. These electronic missives represent who we are, how we think, and how well we communicate. If your email is riddled with typos or comes across as snarky or impatient, it\u2019s a negative reflection on you as a professional \u2014 which is why it\u2019s generally a good idea to avoid emailing late at night.<\/p>\n
Chances are you\u2019re tired, which is when you\u2019re most likely to make mistakes, like misquoting a number or even cc’ing somebody on an email that they shouldn\u2019t be reading. If you\u2019re in a bad mood, know that it will be reflected in your writing \u2014 subconsciously or not.<\/p>\n
Anytime you feel compelled to respond to or a write a destructive late-night email, keep the following tips in mind. You\u2019ll thank yourself in the morning.<\/p>\n
Procrastination can be a professional\u2019s biggest enemy sometimes, but it can also save your bacon if you\u2019re considering writing to a new client late at night. Always ask yourself, “Can this wait until morning?”. Ninety-nine percent of the time it absolutely can!<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s something you absolutely MUST\u00a0share or respond to late at night, sit down at the computer and write it out in a word processing program \u2014 one that will alert you to both misspellings and improper grammar. Some things you can\u2019t rush, so give yourself time to get the email just right before you send it. If you can, again, wait until morning when you have the time and won\u2019t miss any sleep trying to spell hors d\u2019oeuvres correctly. You\u2019ll take a look at what you wrote the night before and STILL find mistakes or ill-advised comments. If the email was something you wanted to rant about, you might even find that in the light of day, it really doesn\u2019t need sending at all.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s your significant other, a roommate, or your best friend halfway across the country, there is probably at least one person in your life to whom you can go for a second opinion. When emotions are involved, what seems perfectly rational to us can sound alarm bells for somebody else. Ask them if what you\u2019re doing is really a good idea after all. Send them a copy of the email you plan to send. They\u2019ll tell you whether you should hit that send button or not.<\/p>\n
If you know you\u2019re vulnerable to bad late-night decision-making, set for yourself a strict cutoff time for electronic communication. For example,\u00a0after 8:30 p.m., you can\u2019t check your emails or send any business-related texts. Again remember, 99 percent of those late-night emails and texts can wait until the morning. This self-imposed blackout can also save you from reading someone else\u2019s destructive email, and win you a peaceful night!<\/p>\n
When all else fails, listen to that voice or nagging feeling inside. It\u2019s most likely trying to tell you that you don\u2019t appear \u201cpunctual\u201d when responding to an email late at night \u2014 you look weird, or, depending on what you write \u2014 crazy.<\/p>\nComposing a late-night email? Think before you hit send! You\u2019ll thank yourself in the morning. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s a familiar feeling to us all \u2014 that\u00a0sickening sense of panic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":6159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbooth.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}