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The fear of clicking send

Rachel Shelley
Rachel Shelley
28 Jul 2017
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Most of us introverts or those who struggle with anxiety have been there. It's a new fear that has emerged from the digital age - the fear of clicking send.

Many people have experienced this, whether you’re a marketer about to send out a mass email campaign, a team lauching your new company website, or a candidate sending off an application to your dream job. You’ve tested and checked it a hundred times but you still hesitate over the button, fearing a mistake. Why is this? And no it's not Koumpounophobia (the fear of buttons).

For many people it’s that permanence. Once you hit send it’s out there, and depending on what it is, you often can’t take it back. You fear a critical error or embarassing mistake and you can't bring yourself to bite the bullet.


mailchimp prepare to send

So how do you overcome this?


Another pair of eyes

If you’ve checked it again and again then you’re unlikely to find any more mistakes. Getting someone else to check it over gives a fresh pair of eyes and they are much more likely to spot anything you may have missed. If there is no one you can ask then try reading it out loud rather than in your head, this can often give a whole new perspective. If it is something such as a marketing email with lots of imagery and important layout considerations, then make sure you have checked it on multiple email clients and devices to ensure it formats correctly.


3, 2, 1…

Once you’ve done the above you’ve done all you can do. The best technique is to rip the plaster off, count down from 3 and then click send, without hesitating or thinking about it. Of course this is easier said than done and doesn’t work for everyone, so here’s some more tips to try.


Set a timer

If you find you are wasting a lot of time checking over and over then it can be helpful to set a timer or deadline that you must have sent it by. You could even use a penalty or reward system to help motivate you to stick to it.


Take a step back

Another technique if you have more time is to go away and forget about it for a little while. When you come back don’t read it, don’t look at it or think about it, just click send. This means it’s done before the worry has had time to set in.


If you still can't do it?

If all else fails, ask someone else to do it for you. They are unlikely to have the same fear and will click the button for you before you can change your mind!

mailchimp sent

Then it is done. Enjoy that sense of relief and know that it gets easier every time.

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