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Operations and processes · Short · 2 August 2026

Why are urgent jobs hardly ever urgent? | The Law of Inherited Urgency

Many urgent jobs don’t come from importance, but from poor planning. Before accepting one, ask what priority it has, which task gets delayed and what happens if it isn’t done by tomorrow.

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Your actions for this week

  1. Next time something urgent comes in, ask what happens if it isn’t finished by tomorrow.
  2. Ask which task you should put back to do it.
  3. Note down where this week’s urgent jobs come from and look for the pattern.

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