I write (and receive) a lot of email-sized messages, and email / phone are pretty much the only ways I communicate with clients. Most client emails involve list

I write (and receive) a lot of email-sized messages, and email / phone are pretty much the only ways I communicate with clients. Most client emails involve lists of features and questions which we reply to with line-by-line comments (think red/blue, quotes within quotes). To me it's more efficient and less distracting to have all my work comms in a single email thread per project than scattered across different services. I've tried doing this with shared documents and spreadsheets, but found it's a mess, because no one checks and notices when you change them, or scrolls around to find the thing you added or commented on. The issues are complicated and technical enough that chat format, especially thumb-typing, is not helpful. With email, clients usually see and respond quickly so I can get on with work. And there's a consistent paper trail to refer to. If the issue needs a discussion that's too complex for the email chain, or if they don't fully understand the options or limitations I'm describing, I call the client and hash it out, then put the result we agreed on into an email and send it to them.