Concept
One ask per message
A message with three requests gets one answered, usually the easiest, and the other two vanish. One ask per message, or a numbered list with a name and a date on each item, is the rule that stops you chasing.
The rule follows from how people read at work: they skim for what they must do, do the first or easiest thing, and archive. Three asks in prose become one reply and two orphans. If you genuinely need three things, send three messages, each with its own subject line, or put the three in a numbered list with a name and a deadline against each, and expect to follow up on the ones without a reply. The same discipline governs documents: one decision per page, stated at the top with the recommendation before the analysis. It is the writing equivalent of the Heaths' core message: choose what matters most and let the rest wait.
A real-life example
A designer resends a redesign message with one decision, whether to keep guest checkout, and moves his two other questions to separate messages. The decision comes back by Thursday; the other two get answered on their own threads.
How to use it
- 1Before sending, count the asks. If more than one, split the message or number them with names and dates.
- 2Put the single ask in the first line.
- 3For documents, one decision per page, recommendation first.