Kelly Conaboy is writing an advice column for Dipp readers. It's going to be very serious. So serious, in fact, we named it Very Serious: An Advice Column by Kelly Conaboy. Just email her at kelly.conaboy@gmail.com and each week, Kelly will solve one lucky reader's biggest problem. You can read all of Kelly's excellent advice here.

Dear Kelly,

Is it okay to "circle back" on an email from March 2020… now?

From,

Kathryn

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I’m sorry, but oh my god. Just the question itself is giving me anxiety. And it’s making me curious. What could the email be regarding? How could there even possibly be an email that you remember from March of 2020, the time immediately before all of our minds turned to fear-based liquid? Hmmm. Here are a few thoughts on what might appropriately necessitate a follow-up to a pre-pandemic email:

• Hey, you mentioned in March 2020 that you had a cure for my previously incurable ailment. Just wanted to follow up…
• Hey, just circling back on this. Yes, I accept your proposal and do want to get married.
• Bumping this! I’d love to collect my half of the lottery winnings when you get a chance.
• Sorry to do this, lol, but just wanted to circle back on the idea that you are my future self coming to me with a warning?
• I am a freelancer and I bet you think I forgot that you haven’t paid me yet, BUT I HAVEN’T AND I NEVER WILL.

Otherwise I can’t personally see a reason for following up on an email. That said, I am someone who is worse at email than most. (I’ve mentioned this before.) The idea of it haunts me. Even fun, nice emails cause me pain. Knowing someone is out there, awaiting your response … it somehow makes the idea of putting into action the twelve seconds of work it would take to give that response impossible. I am generally trapped in a cycle of dreading and feeling guilty about not responding to email until I forget about that email, and then the dread and guilt are replaced by a new email.