What really annoys me a lot is when people distract me with chat messages like "Hi", "Can I ask you a question?" or "Have a sec?" and then keep me waiting for the real question.

Does this pattern look familiar to you too?

13:15 John
Hi!
13:18 Bill
...?
14:20 John
Is the demo on Thursday or Friday?
14:22 Bill
Friday

Usually, it's just a few minutes of waiting, but sometimes people get distracted between "hi" and a question, or you don't manage to answer them before they finish the day. As a result, the conversation which should take minutes will continue the next day.

Instead of greeting, ask the question right away!

Of course, if you want to be polite, you can keep "Hi" at the beginning of a question.

13:15 John
Hi! Is the demo on Thursday or Friday?
13:18 Bill
Friday

This change might look like a nothing big at first glance, but It's very important especially when the other person chats with multiple people every day or is in different timezone. Asking the question right away allows for asynchronous communication, and cuts out unnecessary distractions.

To be honest with you, I was also guilty of saying "Hi" way too often. Somehow it felt natural in the conversation. But once I become a leader I started feeling the pain and seeing how much time is lost in waiting and context switching. So now I'm an advocate for the "No Hello" rule.