Getting started
When do you need it by?
If the request does not say, ask. A specific date is the only thing that turns «whenever» into something that gets done.
**If no date comes with it, ask — and if you are the one asking, always give one.** A request with no date reads as «whenever», and «whenever» competes on anybody's list against things that do have a day.
Why the date is missing so often
| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| It seemed obvious to the requester | Ask: the answer will be specific |
| There is no real deadline yet | Agree one anyway. Undated things do not happen |
| There is a deadline but it is a third party's | Ask for that one: it is the real driver |
| A template was copied without adjusting | Very common. Asking fixes it |
Important
**Asking for the date is not a formality: it is what prevents the reminder two weeks from now.** And if it turns out they need it tomorrow, better to know today — the most expensive moment to discover an urgency is once it has passed. The question costs one line and changes your week in either scenario.
If you are not going to make it
- 1
Say so before the date, not after
The difference between re-planning and looking bad.
- 2
Give a specific date of your own
«Tuesday» works; «as soon as I can» is not plannable.
- 3
And send what you do have meanwhile
It usually unblocks half of it for them.
Watch out
What lies behind almost every outside rush: **whoever is asking usually has a deadline they did not set either**. An audit, a client of theirs, an onboarding date. Asking «what is that date driven by?» helps both sides: sometimes you discover there is real slack, and sometimes you discover there is none at all and they were asking far too gently.
›Can I ask for more time?
Nearly always, if you ask before it lapses and offer an alternative date.
›What if they never give me a date?
Set one yourself and say it. Nobody will argue.
›Do reminders mean I am late?
Not necessarily. They mean the request is still open.
A real case
The situation
A request arrives with no date and sits at the bottom of the list for three weeks.
What you do
- Asks for the date on receipt and notes it down
What you get
The request enters the list with a day instead of competing against things that have one.
The situation
You are not going to make the agreed date and say so the day after it passed.
What you do
- Flags it before it lapses and proposes a specific date
What you get
The other side re-plans instead of discovering the delay with no slack left.
The situation
The request says «whenever you can» and nobody prioritises it.
What you do
- Puts a specific date in the request itself
What you get
It enters the other side's list with a day attached.
The situation
Something is requested for «this week» without naming a day.
What you do
- Writes the full date rather than a relative reference
What you get
There are no two readings of the same phrase.
The situation
The supplier delivers late and says they did not know it was urgent.
What you do
- Explains in the notice what depends on that date
What you get
The urgency is understood without a phone call.
The situation
Nobody knows which requests fall due this week.
What you do
- Checks what is due and acts beforehand
What you get
Warning happens before the deadline rather than after.
The situation
A date is agreed by phone and later the two versions differ.
What you do
- Records the date in the file
What you get
What was agreed stops depending on two memories.
This article answers
- when do i have to send the paperwork
- the request has no deadline
- how long do i have to reply
- is this document request urgent