I put up an Out-Of-Office auto reply and never took it down

I always loved snail mail.

My grandparents founded a mailing company in Washington DC before I was born, so perhaps it’s in my blood. My love for fun stationary and stamps began in elementary school when friends who moved away became my pen pals. Receiving a letter in response was a rush. Later, when my husband served overseas I was on a first-name basis with my local post office and earned a little reputation for my care packages.

Communication is a gesture of love and caring.

Now it is estimated that billions of emails are sent every day and thanks to AI authorship the rate is continuing to rise, despite messages beginning to exist in a closed-loop system where a growing number may never reach human eyes. Imagine a world where emails are written and received, just from one AI to another. The slop is compounding.

Communication feels empty and intrusive.

This spring I hit a breaking point. I was on overload.

In addition to the time I devote to teaching yoga and writing, I also work as a communications consultant and I was under the gun for a serious deadline in May.

To reclaim my time and focus, I needed to set a boundary around email. The problem was that I have always prided myself on being responsive and felt pressure to maintain a standard people had come to expect. The stakes feel higher when I’m running my own business. I don’t want a potential client to feel ignored or think I am incompetent. It’s not like it’s a life-or-death matter, but it can feel that way.

I’m tired of living in the trap of everything feeling urgent because the truth is, very little actually is.

I was at a crossroads. I could create an AI agent to keep up, or I could be honest about the pace I can realistically work at. It doesn’t mean I’m a failure, it means I'm human!

The response I got was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to keep an auto-reply in place. I heard things like: “This is refreshing! Take all the time you need!” and “I love this so much, I want to copy you.” I would love if this became the norm.

I’m enjoying the breathing room, and I intend to keep it this way.