I’ll start this entry with a definition of the word courtesy of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition. Urgency: The quality or state of being urgent.
Living in the New York/ New Jersey Metropolitan area we come across various degrees of urgency. Waiting for the ever popular mass transit subway or bus service where you have to fight people for a spot coupled with the patience it takes to wait in line at the post office while they jungle packages in the back. We all experience the highs and lows of each others sense of urgency. At work we are asked to complete request on the drop of a dime, then watch it sit on someone’s desk for days. We seldom notice how long any line is when it’s our turn at the register or how slow we walk when not behind the wheel.
I am offering a very technical approach to settle an over exaggerated sense of urgency, ignore it. Seriously, try it. Whenever a stranger, colleague, client, superior, loved one, child, or partner demands immediate attention I simply ignore them. I have found that when the matter is 100% trivial, allowing some idle time for the requestor to contemplate other options actually helps them figure it out. Now, this approach takes some experience in evaluating situations, people’s feelings and ultimately protecting your creditability plays a part as well, but with practice you too can learn how to effectively ignore stressful urgency.
Remember to take time out of your busy day to recognize the sense of urgency in others before you are consumed by your own.
