Important But Not Urgent (Rebroadcast)

In this special rebroadcast, we are revisiting a conversation about a phrase many of us use at the start of a new project or a new year: “I want to hit the ground running.”

Often, we start with great momentum, but it doesn’t take much—like an unexpected illness or a change in schedule—to throw a snag into our plans. For those of us with ADHD, we tend to thrive on speed and urgency. We don’t want to wait around, and that "emergency" energy can be a powerful motivator. However, living from one urgent task to the next often means we never get around to the things that are important but don't have an immediate deadline.

In today’s episode, we explore how to use urgency as a tool without letting it run our lives, and how we can intentionally make space for the tasks that truly matter in the long run.

This Episode’s Top Tips

• Urgency vs. Importance: Just because a task feels urgent doesn’t mean it is actually important. We often feel an internal pressure to act immediately, but it's essential to pause and evaluate if that task truly requires our instant attention.

• The Deadline Trap: We frequently use deadlines as our primary source of motivation. However, living deadline-to-deadline ensures that only "urgent" tasks get finished, while the "important but not urgent" goals—the ones that often lead to the most growth—continually fall by the wayside.

• Creating Artificial Pressure: Since important but non-urgent tasks lack a natural "fire" to get us moving, we can use accountability to bridge the gap. Creating artificial deadlines or engaging in co-working and body-doubling sessions are great ways to ensure we follow through on our long-term plans.