Operations and processes · Short · 21 September 2026
The Law of “While You’re At It”: how a 10-minute task turns into a whole afternoon
Every “while you’re at it” seems free, but it adds work without touching the deadline, the scope or the priority. The useful answer: “I’ll add it. What do we adjust: deadline, scope or priority?”.
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Your actions for this week
- Next time a task gets extended, ask what gets adjusted: deadline, scope or priority.
- This week, note down how many “while you’re at it” requests you get.
- If you lead, group your requests into a single piece of work with a realistic deadline.
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