Urgent vs. Important: Know The Difference

There’s always “important” things going on in one’s life. Growing your career, locking in new customers, finishing that business plan you started months ago, these are the things you really want to do but don’t, or in some cases, can’t.

With each “important” item it seems there are at least two other “urgent” things that, justifiably, need your time/attention and yours only. And so it happens, human nature, pushing off the important in favour of the urgent.

Everyone has this challenge, but some people are able to move past it and manage it easier. Think about the last time you made a major move because of something important to you, a move that propelled you upwards and not just forwards… Instead, we base our day to day’s on urgencies, tasks that in a few years won’t even be on your plate. We do this to feel competent. We’re good at the urgencies, we’ve proved we can complete them and that’s why they’re ours to begin with. The biggest challenge in this is recognizing that the “important” is typically filled with fear. Fear of failure, fear of wasting time, fear of change.

Now that you know why there is a difference, consider allotting more time for the important. The urgent can wait… At least for now.