Why tell people “let me write about this and get back to you”?

A friend of mine read in my weekly journal that I was trying to say “let me write about that and get back to you” at least once per day. He asked me why I felt the need to say that instead of just “let me get back to you.”

Good question, so here’s my answer:

1. I want to show people that I care enough about the topic to actually “do a thing” (like actual work). Maybe that’ll help them feel like I’m giving it the respect it deserves.
2. It reassures them that they’ll get an answer, rather than me just brushing it off. “Let me get back to you” can come across like I’m avoiding it.
3. It won’t be a surprise when I send them a thing I wrote. It sets their expectation for what will happen.
4. It adds some accountability so I can’t get lazy and decide it wasn’t that important.
5. This one is lower priority, but it’s a low-key effort to normalize async comms, writing as thinking, and less knee-jerk decisions.

As for the actual wording, here’s my current go-to: “This feels important and I want to do it justice. Is it OK with you if I ponder it and write up my thoughts?