Urgent!: Strategies to Control Urgency, Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity

by Dermot Crowley

Leverage the power of urgency to avoid burnout and increase performance Urgency—that frantic feeling that we need to be doing more, and faster—is a destructive force in today’s workplace. Unnecessary urgency can be toxic, causing stress and burnout. But not all urgency is bad, and sometimes we really do need to get things done quickly. Too little urgency can lead to inaction and lost productivity. So how do we find the right balance where we can use urgency as a meaningful tool to keep productivity up, without generating burnout? Urgent! is a guide to using urgency for good to help achieve your goals, to drive success, and minimise stress for yourself, your teams, and your business. This book will teach you to moderate urgency for yourself and those you lead. In our age of fast-paced technology, it’s easy to swing between extremes, working reactively one minute, and being inactive the next. The middle ground, described in this book, allows us to work in the “Active Zone” where we maximise proactivity and productivity. By following the practical strategies outlined in this book, readers will learn to understand urgency, become proactive rather than reactive, and lead teams to their fullest potential. Eliminate stress and burnout for yourself, your teams, and your businesses Learn how to dial urgency up or down, depending on the situation Keep teams working in the optimal productive zone by moderating urgency Stay focused on what's important and learn prioritisation skills to avoid burnout If you feel that you and your team are caught up in busy work, stressed to the max by competing demands, leaving no room to focus on what really matters, Urgent! will show you a new way of thinking, leading, and responding. Learn the skills to reduce overload, get more done, and achieve better performance each day.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Leadership, Audiobook

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2020

Reviews

[Jung]

In today’s fast-paced workplace, many things are made out to be urgent – when they’re really not. The key to working in a sustainable, successful way is to recognize and reduce unproductive urgency while seeking out opportunities to maximize productive urgency. By becoming aware of reactive traps, both internal and external, and training ingrained behaviors to be more proactive, you’ll find that you can moderate urgency to your – and your team’s – advantage.

And here’s some more actionable advice:

Check your language.

Using “ASAR” – that’s “as soon as reasonable” – instead of the ubiquitous “ASAP” might seem like an insignificant shift. But language is a powerful tool. When you ask for something to be done “as soon as possible,” you’re aggressively asking people to shuffle their other commitments and push this work to the forefront. ASAR is a gentler, more trusting approach; it allows others to make the call about how to integrate the work into their existing priorities. Of course, an instant reaction is necessary in some cases, but the trick is to be discerning in your choice of words. This will set the tone for how you and your team deal with urgency – and contribute to either a negative or positive work culture.

[Corrinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a book that’s easy to read, practical to implement and leaves me feeling inspired. ‘Urgent! Strategies to control urgency, reduce stress and increase productivity’ is a book that does that.

My favourite quote - “Remember, industries are not reactive by nature. Organisations are not reactive by nature. It is individuals who cause reactivity and urgency most of the time. Reactivity is a choice we make when faced with urgency. And our choices become our actions.“

If you are feeling out of control, stop blaming the environment and start taking responsibility! Dermot’s wonderful book will show you how.

Dermot Crowley is the master of 21st Century Productivity and this is a book I give to executive teams I work with.

Thank you Dermot - your work is needed by senior leaders everywhere.

[Ahmad A M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the author is examining urgency from the perspective of managers and project team leaders but the content is also applicable to the ordinary worker. At the very least the book highlights what managers face on quite a regular basis. There are some good ideas here promoting a proactive mindset and accompanying system to address urgency at multiple levels. I like how the author breaks down the act of moderating urgency via 4 stages: Respond, Absorb, Mobilise and Defuse, providing tips for each. It's helping me view the sense of urgency (intentional or not) as a factor that can undermine productivity and healthy work culture. Recommended reading.

[Basmaish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book examining the urgency and reactivity attitude we have in work nowadays and how this should be examined and improved. The author explains the way we currently react within the urgency matrix and the tools and systems that can be implemented to move from reactive to proactive and to reduce the firefighting attitude that’s so prevalent in work now. Highly recommend.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A secret-weapon must read for any busy executive looking to get smarter on how time is spent and more effectively manage the most precious resource we all have in our work day - time.

[Travis Southerland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few decent takeaways but some of this seems more feasible for people in more senior roles. Some of these will be hard to implement for lower level employees.

[Edwin Masripan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights to building a relax but productive team.