--- title: The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response description: Maybe their computer broke? canonical: https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/ author: Levo League article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-13T22:29:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:25:57.736Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response og:description: Maybe their computer broke? og:url: https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response twitter:description: Maybe their computer broke? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=aa3bb6d1-120e-44c0-92da-b7b96f93d3e3&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Meredith Lepore / Levo League](https://time.com/author/levo-league/) ## Meredith Lepore / Levo League Oct 13, 2015 10:29 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Meredith Lepore / Levo League](https://time.com/author/levo-league/) ## Meredith Lepore / Levo League Oct 13, 2015 10:29 PM UTC **1\. Satisfaction** It usually feels great to send an email and get it off your to-do list, especially if it was an important one. For about 30 seconds, you’re just high from the feeling that you accomplished something. Sadly, that doesn’t last long. **2\. Humor** Ha. That’s funny. She hasn’t responded back within 31 seconds—even though you put so much time and effort into this email and it possesses a very important question! **3\. Curiosity** What could she be doing that she can’t respond right now? Maybe she’s writing an email and yours is next on the docket, or maybe she’s reading a really in-depth _New Yorker_ piece…or fell into a BuzzFeed coma. **4\. Anger** OK, seriously, how hard it is write a short email? All you want is a response. A simple response. A 2-year-old child could do this! And if she’s on vacation, why doesn’t she have an Out of Office response?! That’s just common courtesy! **5\. Sadness** Guess this person just doesn’t think you’re important. Maybe everyone feels that way. Might as well just go and eat worms. **6\. The Crazy Hypothesis Stage** Hmm, maybe her computer broke? Or the window washer’s harness broke and she was the only one who could save him? Or maybe she writes _Pretty Little Liars_ fan fiction and got stuck on the cliffhanger? Or maybe she got one of those Chinese finger traps and actually got her fingers stuck in it so she can’t type. Yeah, that’s probably it. **7\. Resentment** Now you can’t do anything else because all you can think about is this email. Your coworkers are talking about _Bachelor in Paradise_ and you don’t even want to weigh in on it. You’re literally 11 seconds away from having a full-on meltdown, Elfaba Finale of Act 1 in _Wicked_ style. **8\. Denial** Maybe she just didn’t get it. It says it went through, but maybe it didn’t. Or the computer exploded at the exact moment you sent it. You’ll just keep checking. Checking repeatedly always helps. **9\. Distraction** It’s fine. You can be super busy and important, too. You’re going to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte, like important people do, and you won’t think about the fact that she hasn’t emailed while you wait in line for your Pumpkin Email Latte. Damnit. _Pumpkin Spice Latte._ **10\. Acceptance** OK, your email will never be answered. Ever. This is just part of your life now. **11\. Relief (When They Finally Respond to Your Email)** Oh, she was in a meeting. That makes sense. I’ll read this later. _This_ [_article_](http://www.levo.com/articles/career-advice/emotional-stages-of-waiting-for-an-email-response) _originally appeared on_ [_Levo.com_](http://www.levo.com) _More from Levo.com:_ * [The Right Way to Send Emails](http://www.levo.com/articles/skills/the-right-way-to-send-emails) * [8 Things That May Be Decreasing Your Productivity](http://www.levo.com/articles/career-advice/8-things-that-may-be-decreasing-your-productivity-at-work) * [10 Ways to Sharpen Your Listening Skills at Work](http://www.levo.com/articles/skills/better-listening-skills-in-meetings) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/"},"headline":"The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response","datePublished":"2015-10-13T22:29:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:25:57.736Z","description":"Maybe their computer broke?","url":"https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/","keywords":["Humor","Newsfeed","Living","Careers & Workplace","career"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Meredith Lepore / Levo League"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/humor/","name":"Humor"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4071846/email-waiting-stages/","name":"The 11 Emotional Stages of Waiting for Email Response"}}]}] ```