Nine emails, nine small rewrites. Each one swaps an apology for a boundary—same information, none of the shrinking.
The nine swaps
I took a while, but you can deal
❌ Sorry for the delay
✅ Thanks for your patience
My schedule matters too
❌ What works best for you?
✅ Could you do __:__?
Yeah, you’re welcome
❌ No problem / No worries!
✅ Always happy to help!
I know what I’m doing
❌ I think maybe we should ___
✅ It’d be best if we ___
Wording this is hard
❌ *rewriting e-mail for 40 minutes*
✅ It’d be easier to discuss in person
Do you get it?
❌ Hopefully that makes sense?
✅ Let me know if you have questions
Where the heck are we on this?
❌ Just wanted to check in
✅ When can I expect an update?
I made a small error
❌ Ahh sorry! My bad. Totally missed that.
✅ Nice catch! Updated file attached. Thanks for letting me know!
I have an appointment
❌ Could I possibly leave early?
✅ I will need to leave for ___ at __:__.
Why this one lands so hard with ADHD
Look at the fifth panel: rewriting e-mail for 40 minutes. It’s the only one where the ❌ isn’t a phrase at all—it’s the time spent. That’s the tell.
If you’ve spent years being told you’re too much, too scattered, too late, an inbox becomes a place where you pre-apologise for taking up space. The swaps work because they’re not about confidence. They’re scripts—and a script is much easier to reach for than a feeling.
Want this one on your wall?
E-mail Like a Boss is available as a poster and a mug—useful in exactly the place you write the emails.
And if the 40-minute rewrite is a familiar problem, The Anti-Planner has strategies for the days when starting the thing is the whole battle.
