Gut or head?
As in, do you tend to write with your gut or with your head?
Data writes with his butt.
Well, you can probably tell from reading my blog that I write with my gut – I kind of just go with the flow, stream of consciousness style. I go back and edit and all that, but I try to keep the passion in whatever I was talking about.
I am typically the same way with emails. Especially personal ones. I just fire away my response. At work, I try to do a better job of crafting my response. But… I tend to be pretty transparent.*
Anyway.
I have gotten in to this bad habit of looking at my phone to check the time when I get up to use the bathroom during the night. What is wrong with checking the time on my phone? Well, I have emails pop up on my lock screen, and a few times in the past week I’ve seen an email in the middle of the night, then spent most of the night thinking about how I will respond.
Sigh.
It’s not like me to “worry” like this, over an email. I even took a whole DAY to respond to one of the emails. But I still responded with my gut feeling, just used some “head” logic in the response. At least, I hope.
And… all this vagueness is not to be annoying! It just made me curious to ask you how you tend to respond, in written form.
And we don’t have to be vague – I have just had some feedback on how I got my entry for the Naperville Marathon and what I wrote in the post about it, and I have been trying to respond with care.
*I had previously written “Oops” here (You caught me EDITING!) but that’s not true. I want to be transparent. I don’t want to hide my true feelings and thoughts. I don’t want to be dishonest. I just have to be careful with my facial expressions sometimes… but that is not what this post is about! Ha ha.
Themocracy
I have a PERFECT example of this this week. Remind me to tell you about it.
I tend to be careful about what I send in a text or an email. Also in posts (as far as how I think what I’ve written will be taken). But I’m still a stream of consciousness writer…I just overthink about how my stuff will be received…
Texts are tricky! I use about a gazillion emoji to try to get my point across. Ha ha ha.
I’m like Data, I write with my butt!
On my blog it’s more of writing with my gut, because I don’t really care much about what people on the internet think. (there are certain things I filter – I don’t complain about work, just incase someone from work were to find my blog)
At work I will overthink emails, just because I want to sound professional and oftentimes the written word is interpreted wrong. Did someone invent the sarcasm font yet?
I am the exact same with my blog. Everything except work stuff… and the stuff that is not my story to tell.
Gah. Work emails are hard. I see so many rude ones come in that I try really hard to be pleasant and polite.
Ugh I do this. If I get a text message early or in the middle of the night, I try with all my heart not to open it. But then I sit there and wonder who it’s from, what’s going on, what if someone is hurt?? Then I end up checking it, and it’s normally something silly but I stay up and wonder about responding back! I never check email though 🙂
I write with my gut and edit with my head. I’m sure I would come across as offensive if I just let it rip. My phone is kept far away from the sleep chamber. I check emails/texts way too much during the day as it is.
I write with my gut, edit, and then usually hold off on posting for a little bit. Which then usually means I do another edit. But I think my original points still come through, but I am strangely worried about offending people.
But obviously you know I do no editing whatsoever to personal emails. If I’m responding to something important for work, and let’s say it’s a situation that is really frustrating me (I mean, that NEVER happens), I’ll usually have someone else read it over to make sure I’m still coming across as professional and not just telling someone to get their shit together.
There’s not an outlet on my side of the bed, so I actually never sleep with my phone. I’m sure I’d do the same thing if I did!
Do you worry about offending specific people, or people in general? I am curious because I completely forget who reads my blog from time to time, then write something and realize later that someone could misinterpret it and be offended.
I think I should do that at work sometimes 🙂
I write very stream of consciousness in emails, specifically personal ones. I’m not sure much of what I say makes sense. I wills stress, though if I don’t get a response when I think I should because I assume I make people mad. When I am responding to something critical, I write my gut reaction and then sit on it, delete it and write with my head.
Oh, I DEFINITELY write with my head. I’ve been burned too many times writing with my gut. However, I don’t like to spend a lot of time working on an email or a post, writing it, going back and editing it, etc. I usually edit as I type.
Probably a little with my gut, and a lot with my head. I tend to go back and reread and refine e-mails before I send them, which can be a laborious process.
I hate that when you’re trying to figure out how to respond to something, and then you put something down, and then you go back and forth about whether or not to hit send.
Maybe you should not have your phone in the bedroom? 😉
Yeah, I hate that I have been thinking so much about hitting send lately. I don’t like being uncertain (does anyone? ha ha).
I use my phone as my alarm clock. But I could turn off notifications 🙂
I believe you should leave all electronics (besides a tv, unless you feel strongly about a tv, mine is rarely on except for weekend mornings) out of the bedroom. I leave my phone on the counter. Honestly no one ever calls me on it, so I come home set it on the counter and check it periodically, and once I go to bed, I try not to think about it.
I start out by writing with my gut but then I totally edit! It’s terrible. I wish I had the confidence to just leave what I had written out in the open, but I fully admit to worrying about how people will respond, etc!
Aww man! You should try it once! It’s freeing!
90% my head. The other 10% is all gut.