Urgency and importance

Working Under Pressure

Many people share that they work well under pressure. However, working under pressure can often lead to complications, which include:

Heightened and prolonged stress
Constantly feeling overwhelmed
Anxiety and depression
Burnout
Physical health problems
Low motivation
Work mistakes and poor performance

All of these can be prevented by learning to manage time and prioritize our responsibilities.

Time Management

Time management is a helpful executive functioning tool when prioritizing and completing tasks. However, it is a bit tricky because we cannot “manage” or control time. Time will occur whether or not we are here. So, time management refers to how we use the time we have and how we complete tasks given the time constraints.

Managing Responsibilities

When we have several items on our to-do lists, it can be difficult to prioritize tasks. When we are unable to prioritize tasks, we can become overwhelmed and unable to manage time, deadlines, and deliverables. Learning the difference between importance and urgency can be an extremely beneficial skill.

Importance

Importance refers to our internal reflections on whether something has meaning for us. This is a personal value we place on tasks. What one person views as important, someone else might not. For example, different people may place different levels of importance on household chores. Someone may view cleaning their room as highly important, whereas someone else might view it as less important than doing laundry.

Urgency

Urgency refers to the external factors, such as deadlines, that impact when a task needs to be done. Urgent tasks typically need to be handled immediately. Examples of urgent tasks may include:

Homework assignments
Work tasks
Bills
Rent
Medical appointments

Juggling Various Tasks

An analogy that often helps people manage their time and prioritize tasks is juggling multiple balls (or tasks). We are constantly juggling balls. Some balls are plastic, and some are glass. It’s okay if we drop plastic balls from time to time. However, it is important that we do not drop glass balls. What separates glass balls from plastic ones is the importance and/or urgency of the tasks we assign to them.

Prioritizing Tasks

When prioritizing tasks, use the matrix to assess their importance and urgency.

Prioritize tasks that have high importance and urgency.
Complete these tasks first.
Plan ahead for important but not urgent tasks. It can become easy to place these tasks on the back burner and procrastinate.
Delegate tasks that are urgent but not important. For example, asking your partner to wash the dishes or walking the dog.
Eliminate tasks that can are not important or urgent. These tasks can easily eat up our time and get in the way of completing important and/or urgent ones.

Find the Best Therapist in Chicago to Prioritize Responsibilities

When prioritizing tasks, it may be helpful to detail the various steps needed to complete each task.

Be specific!
Implement Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals.
Document tasks and assignments
Monitor your progress
Take breaks and practice self-care
Remind yourself that learning new habits takes practice
Do your best

Book Now

Find a Specialist

At Roamers Therapy, our psychotherapists are here to support you through anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, race-ethnicity issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, ADHD, Autism, or any challenges you encounter. Our psychotherapists are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Gottman Therapy.

Whether you’re seeking guidance on a specific issue or need help navigating difficult emotions, we’re ready to assist you every step of the way.

Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule a session with our mental health professionals to begin your healing journey. To get started with therapy, visit our booking page.

First, decide if you’ll be paying out-of-pocket or using insurance. If you’re a self-pay client, you can book directly through the “Book Now” page or fill out the “Self-Pay/Out-of-network Inquiry Form.” If you’re using insurance, fill out the “Insurance Verification Form” to receive details about your costs and availability. Please let us know your preferred therapist. If your preferred therapist isn’t available, you can join the waitlist by emailing us. Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive intake documents to complete before your first session.

This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.

While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago and Lakeview on Chicago’s North Side, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.