I emailed a young colleague a few days ago to ask about an upcoming project. We were supposed to have a meeting to discuss it this week, but I hadn’t received any confirmation. 

It’s a delicate email to write. On the one hand, I’d like to get the project going as soon as possible. On the other hand, it’s August, and I’d like to be able to spend most of it at the beach with a drink in my hand, so I don’t want to be the one who instigates a summertime meeting no one really wants to have. But on the other other hand, I want to get credit for being “available anytime” — that’s how I put it — to get the project underway. That’s where the delicacy comes in: I want to appear to be eager and industrious without being either one.