It’s been a very long time since I heard anyone use the acronym TLTR (Too Long To Read).
I have never experienced the idea of Too Long To Read being given serious thought in a professional environment. And I have most certainly never come across people who would use it as a valid reason to indeed not read emails, claiming they were TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)..
Until recently …
The fact that anyone thinks that TLTR is a valid reason or that it’s acceptable to say it out loud in a professional environment, is worrying. Why? Because it shows that those people are lazy.
Or they can’t read.
I don’t frown upon laziness per se. It is a natural human trait after all. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve come so far in making our lives easier and more comfortable (from a TV remote control and cars to washing machines and ipods …you see where I’m going with this?). Laziness often leads to creativity and smart ideas.
But not reading your email is not smart. What is more, it is not professional. Using TLTR is as much a faux pas as saying you wish you were Uma Thurman in Kill Bill slicing off the top of your boss’s ugly head with a katana while classical music is gently playing in the background. No matter how true or well-deserved it is, it’s just not done (out loud). It’s a stupid sackable offense.
Also (not that the TLTD sayers care), you have lost everyone’s respect.
The most common reaction is How dare you?! Do you also say you won’t talk to your team, provide a report, use a laptop, come to the meeting and wear pants to the office because you don’t feel like it? (In all fairness goats like that usually do. And get away with it because the world is a tad out of joint.)
If you say that it was too long to read, it’s simple - you either can’t read or you’re lazy.
So read your bloody emails!
Why?
It is your job to do so. Like it or hate it, this is how a lot of business is done today.
Show respect, a.k.a. be professional. You are not a petulant, spoiled child in a sandbox picking and choosing which toy you want to play with. You are a professional paid to do a job while conducting yourself in a professional manner. This includes communication via email. And communication - via email or otherwise - is a two-way process. Unlike a little bully in the playground you do not have the privilege of screaming and throwing your toys around for your parents, babysitters or other kids to pick up; you are instead expected to absorb information (read an email sent to you or a reply to an email you sent) as well as pass it on.
What goes around, comes around.
Why not?! You can read, can’t you?
Being proud and vocal about your laziness is not cool (see the petulant spoiled brat analogy above).
So, for the last time: Read your bloody emails!