Clarifying a project deadline

Mei was preparing a short guide for a community language fair. On Monday, she received an email from Omar, the project leader: “Please send me the guide by Wednesday.” However, her notes from their last meeting gave Friday as the deadline. She still had to add several photos, so she wondered whether the plan had changed.

Before moving other tasks, Mei replied: “Could you confirm which version you need on Wednesday? I understood that the final guide was due on Friday. Do you need a draft first?”

Omar answered that afternoon. “Yes, please send the draft by three on Wednesday afternoon. It needs all the text, but some photos can be missing. The team will read it on Thursday and suggest changes. The final version, including every photo, is due by ten on Friday morning. The print shop needs the finished file then.”

Mei read the reply twice. The Friday deadline had not changed; Wednesday was an earlier step in the same project. She added both times to her task list and wrote “draft” beside the first one.

On Wednesday, she sent the text with two empty spaces for photos. The team’s comments arrived on Thursday morning. Because she had kept Thursday afternoon free for changes, she could correct a room number and add the remaining photos before Friday’s deadline.