I Deleted And Rewrote My Amazon Slack Messages 5 Times Before Sending.

2026-02-27 · Source: Artificial Intelligence on Medium · Field: Business & Management — Operations & Process Management, Human Resources & Workforce Development · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

The article describes a common workplace communication dilemma experienced by a software engineer at Amazon in early 2016. The engineer recounts spending fifteen minutes and five rewrites to craft a two-sentence Slack message to their manager, David, asking for an API rollout timeline. Initially, the engineer perceived this meticulous editing as "being professional," while a colleague dismissed it as overthinking, suggesting to "just send the message." This scenario highlights the contrasting approaches to digital communication in a professional setting, particularly when direct in-person interaction is not feasible due to scheduling conflicts like back-to-back meetings.

Key takeaway

For software engineers or product managers needing quick information from busy colleagues, recognize the efficiency trade-off in crafting digital messages. Your time is valuable; aim for clear, concise communication rather than excessive refinement, especially for routine questions. Over-editing can consume significant time without proportional benefit.

Key insights

Overthinking digital communication can lead to significant time expenditure for simple queries.

Principles

• Direct communication is often more efficient.
• Perfectionism can hinder productivity.

In practice

• Prioritize clarity over perceived politeness.
• Consider the time cost of message refinement.

Topics

• Workplace Communication
• Slack Etiquette
• Professional Messaging
• Manager-Employee Interaction

Best for: Software Engineer, Product Manager, General Interest

Related on AIssential

• Tip: Being more productive in Discord — Efficient Discord use hinges on keyboard navigation and aggressive notification/visibility management.
• I miss when programmers were lazy. — LLMs, lacking human "laziness," generate bloat; human programmers must drive abstraction and quality.
• GenZs are changing office culture — Younger employees are driving a shift towards asynchronous video communication in the workplace.
• Yash receives 100-150 Slack notifications daily, but only 30-40 require real action — An individual named Yash, overwhelmed by 100-150 daily Slack notifications with only 30-40 requiring action, developed a custom software interface to manage them.
• Slack Rebuilds Notification System, Reports 5X Increase in Settings Engagement — Slack has completely rebuilt its notification system, introducing a unified architecture to address long-standing issues with fragmented preferences and inconsistent behavior across desktop and mobile…
• Thinking Fast & Slow for a Personalized Notification System — A hierarchical "slow" and "fast" policy system effectively balances short-term engagement with long-term user experience in personalized notification delivery.

Open in AIssential →

Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Artificial Intelligence on Medium.