Make a Request with a Deadline and a Default
Added 2026-11-06
"Waiting for your reply" is the easiest thing to postpone forever.
I need to ask someone to do something: [request, person, my deadline]. Write it with a deadline and a default: 1) compress the request into one executable action — exactly what they deliver; 2) give a concrete deadline and the reason behind it, not "as soon as possible"; 3) design the default: what I will do if there is no reply by then, and what it means for them; 4) offer two alternatives that lower the cost of saying no; 5) say when to escalate or switch people; 6) name the wording that gets requests ignored or resented.
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Replace these placeholders 1
Swap the bracketed parts for your own details before sending.
[request, person, my deadline]
How to use
A default is not a threat; it tells them silence is itself a choice.
Try tweaking it
- Ask for three columns: conclusion, owner, deadline — ready to paste into a table.
- Let it organise only your notes; do not add decisions that were never made.
What you should get
- Task list with owner, deadline and blocker
- Escalations that need a decision, listed separately
Common mistakes
- Feeding raw notes and letting it fill in decisions that were never made.
- Getting owners without deadlines, so no task can be created.
How to check the output
- Every item has an owner and a date — ready to become a task.
- It does not record decisions that were never made.
Where it works
- Good for: turning verbal discussion into owner, deadline and blocker.
- Watch out: let it organise only the notes you supply — never let it infer decisions that were not made.