Most communication doesn’t need an immediate response.
But most companies treat everything like it does. Ping. Reply. Ping. Reply. All day.
This kills deep work. It fragments attention. It privileges whoever happens to be online.
Flip the default.
Async first. Responses within hours, not minutes. Meetings only when async fails.
The question isn’t “can we discuss this synchronously?” It’s “do we need to?”
Usually, you don’t. A well-written message beats a half-baked call. A considered response beats a reflexive one.
Async gives everyone time to think.