Inbox zero was never the point

Transcript · opening

1. 0:05

   LenaIn March, a reader sent me a four-page letter about her mother. And I didn't answer it for five months.

2. 0:12

   LenaNot because I didn't care. Because I cared too much to write back badly, and every week there was something smaller and louder to answer first.

3. 0:22

   LenaI'm Lena Ortiz, and this is Slow Signals.

4. 0:27

   LenaThis episode is about email, and unanswered letters, and the difference between being reachable and being available.

5. 0:35

   LenaReachable means you can find me. Available means I owe you an answer, now. Somewhere along the way, I let the first one become the second.

6. 0:46

   LenaSo I've made three small rules. I'll tell you all three, and why the second one is the only one I actually keep.

7. 0:54

   LenaThe first rule is that letters get letters. If you took an evening to write to me, you get an evening back. Even if it's late.

That’s the opening. The rest of the conversation follows the chapters on the right.