How to determine that a problem is “urgent”?

Don’t confuse urgency with importance! Here’re 3 considerations when dealing with urgent problems:

1. Clearly define urgency vs. importance in your planning. In general, urgent means we stop what we’re doing to take care of the problem. Important means the problem will affect the ultimate goal but this can be a subjective determination, eg, responding promptly to the client is important for relationship building.
2. In the real-world, deadlines are the main driver for urgency. However, if the problem is “unimportant”, try to negotiate the deadline.
3. Urgent but unimportant problems are interruptions! Stakeholders requests can sometimes fall in that category (have you ever received email with a red !) You can still be responsive by providing an estimated resolution time.

SEE ALSO:

How to hone problem-solving skills outside of the workplace?

How to enhance problem-solving abilities as a project manager?

How to identify the right tradeoffs?

How to show that you are a problem solver in presentations?

View more project management & leadership tips like this one

View more tips on personal and career development like this one

Own 100 Skills 100 Days