How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Urgent

Some days at work start with a clear to-do list… and end up turning into a race against the clock. Suddenly, everything is “urgent.” Your boss needs a report “right now,” a client demands an immediate response, and meanwhile, your team asks you to solve a problem that “can’t wait.”

When everything feels urgent, the temptation is to try to do it all at once. That’s the trap—not only is it impossible, but the quality of each task suffers. The key is to pause (yes, even when it feels like you don’t have a second) and figure out what truly needs your attention at that moment.

(real example) One morning, I received three urgent requests within half an hour. My instinct was to open all three chats at once and start replying in parallel. I quickly realized that was a mistake. I stopped, wrote down each task, and asked for actual deadlines. The result? One could wait until the afternoon, another wasn’t even for that day, and only one required immediate action.

When prioritizing urgent tasks, I like to ask myself three quick questions:

1. What happens if I don’t do this now?

2. Who will be affected? (and more importantly, does it impact something critical to the business?)

3. Do I have all the information to do it right now?

   
   

Another method I use is the traffic light system:

• Red: urgent and important (do this first).

• Yellow: important but not urgent (schedule it soon).

• Green: not urgent and low importance (delegate or park it).

In high-pressure environments like that of an Executive Assistant, it’s also essential to communicate priorities. If your boss asks for something while you’re already handling another urgent task, let them know: “I’m currently working on the client report you asked for by noon—do you want me to pause it to handle this?”. Often, they’ll reorder the priorities themselves once they see the real impact.

And of course, protect your focus. Once you’ve prioritized, work on one thing at a time until it’s done. Finishing a task frees up more time and energy than leaving three half-finished.

In the end, when everything feels urgent, it’s not about running faster—it’s about deciding better.

Urgency is relative; your organization and ability to assess things calmly are what determine what gets done… and how.