I envy those from the era when pigeon post was the only means of long-distance communication. At least back then, you had to wait a decent amount of time between one message and another, unlike now, where we’ve taken on the role of the pigeon itself, constantly moving between one message and another, and from one person to another.
It’s an exciting adventure that begins every morning with your cup of black coffee and ends in the evening with the last moment you close your eyes. At times, you feel like you’re in a big circus, walking on a large colored ball trying to maintain balance, or running on a long tightrope without a safety net beneath you. I can almost guarantee that the audience watching you in this circus hall is laughing at the life you spend bouncing from one rope to another, wondering: “Will he spend his whole life on this nonsense?” And unfortunately, the answer is yes, we will spend it all.
I’m still not entirely convinced that email is the best means of communication. Of course, compared to the phone and mobile, it’s definitely the best, or at least I personally find it the smartest too. But is it impossible to invent another means of smart, fast communication? Like “telepathy,” for example. Instead of the time I spend trying to sleep or sometimes while I’m asleep, thinking about a thousand issues, trying to simulate some responses before writing them, let everything I’m thinking about write itself, and even send it to the intended person. It would be a great way! Or no, I don’t think it would be a great way, because then you’d get a thousand messages instead of a hundred, and you’d be forced to talk to the person more than once and at lightning speed. No, I don’t like it, “a stupid way,” like that stupid messenger. Speaking of the messenger, I think the correct order of communication worldwide should have been something like this:
Sign language – speech and letters – then learning to write – messenger – telephone – mobile – followed by email – and finally telepathy if our beloved scientists manage to invent it.
And let’s not forget that one of the downsides of email is the mood swings between one message and another:
• In a friend’s email: A warm, honest reply with a faint smile, and a pleasant coolness like a summer breeze.
• In a new client’s email: Love, warmth, optimism, and genuine desire to help.
• In an old client’s email: A strange feeling of doubt and suspicion, with a request to modify work done at least two years ago.
• And in the “How do I learn design?” email: A wave of anger, sadness, and cursing the bad luck that started your day.
• Then there’s the constructive criticism email, pointing out a similarity between your work and some old street icons in Italy, wanting to know your thoughts on this serious and private matter, of course, after making sure to share the idea with friends on Twitter.
How long!!
Unfortunately, this time in particular, we don’t have another means to rid ourselves of the curse of email “or the curse of turning into a pigeon.” It’s not a fleeting mood or a temporary phase you can get over by reading success stories “which will only demoralize you further.” It’s a daily process, like anything else, like sleeping, for instance. In many cases, we wish we didn’t sleep, that way we’d add 7 hours to the day, at least, in my case, “only 4 hours,” but that’s great; I’d then dedicate them to answering emails, engaging positively, with enthusiasm and energy, and responding to “How do I learn design in a week?” questions in a more detailed and polite manner!!
The solution!!
To arrive at a conclusion and not let the pigeon post story be a meaningless anecdote, I think freelancers should allocate a portion of their day, preferably about half an hour to an hour in the morning, and the same in the evening, to respond to emails and give each message its due and its proper emotional response. By doing so, we may reduce the curse as much as possible, considering it a given. And whenever you’re annoyed by your emails, simply compare it to the idea of communicating with a former client over the phone: where they want to explain their view on the old work, request new modifications, convey the idea of colors, and the hidden, sincere impression they want to leave with visitors, all while you have a project in hand that you really need to finish quickly and with focus. And of course, you won’t be able to hang up the phone until they finish talking!! Only then will you feel that blessing and thank God a thousand times for the blessing of email and a thousand thousand times for being a freelancer, setting boundaries for your client, and having an agreement that guarantees their rights and your right not to receive more modification requests from your great-grandchildren 100 years later!