Getting off the Urgency Wheel

Do you find yourself stuck on the urgency wheel?  Your days and weeks disappear in a flurry of unplanned tasks, that all need to be done now essentially hijacking your time and keeping you in the low-level tasks rather than getting to the things that add value?

It's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of continually prioritising urgent tasks, leaving little time for what truly matters. Living in constant urgency is often driven by external pressures, like work deadlines, and a constant stream of people at your door leading to a cycle of reactive behaviour.  While addressing urgent issues is sometimes necessary, consistently prioritising urgency over value adding can lead to burnout and hinder achieving your long-term goals. 

What happens when we get stuck in urgency mode?

Constantly operating in urgency mode activates our body's stress response.  When we have urgent situations, it triggers our "fight or flight" response, releasing adrenaline and cortisol. This state is useful for short-term emergencies but when sustained can lead to impact on our cognitive functions like memory, decision-making, and emotional regulation.  If we find ourselves operating continuously from this space over an extended period of time our prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, reasoning, and impulse control, becomes impaired. This makes it difficult to focus on important tasks and maintain long-term goals.

Why can’t I get off this wheel?

Our brain is wired to seek rewards, and this plays a crucial role in why we get caught on the urgency wheel. Here's how the cycle works:

1. Short-Term Wins: When we complete urgent tasks, we receive a dopamine hit, the neurotransmitter associated with reward and pleasure. This creates a sense of accomplishment, reinforcing the behaviour of prioritising urgency over value.
2. Avoidance of Discomfort: Long-term projects, on the other hand, often require sustained effort without immediate rewards. This can lead to discomfort, as our brains naturally prefer tasks that offer quick gratification. This can lead to procrastination on important but not urgent tasks, further entrenching the cycle.
3. Increased Reactivity: As we continue to prioritise urgency, our brain becomes more accustomed to the immediate gratification that comes from addressing short-term tasks. This heightened reactivity makes it increasingly difficult to shift focus to long-term goals, perpetuating a cycle of urgency and short-term thinking.
4. Reduced Capacity for Deep Work: Over time, consistently working in urgency mode can diminish our ability to engage in deep work that requires focus and sustained effort on complex tasks. This not only hampers creativity and productivity but also makes long-term projects feel difficult.  

Have you ever found yourself with a break from the urgent and don’t know what to do, or starting something big feels really hard?  This is why.

If this is you and you want to get off the urgency wheel start by identifying your first step to get started on a value add task and book it into your diary and then celebrate the win.  

Use the completion of these smaller tasks to create a sense of progress and reward, helping to rewire your brain to associate long-term work with positive outcomes.

Breaking free from your urgency mode requires awareness, conscious effort and consistent practice.  It's not about eliminating urgent tasks entirely but about finding a balance that allows you to thrive both now and in the future.

Remember you are in charge of your time, not everyone else or what constantly seems to be urgent. Break free from the urgency trap to focus on what’s important and start to make a difference by delivering on what really matters.