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Ask Flex / Everything is urgent

Ask Flex

What do you do when everything is urgent at work?

"What do I do when everything is urgent at work? It all needs to be done first."You asked Google. Flex answered.
Flex the robot at his desk with alarm bells ringing on every folder, calmly aiming a small fire extinguisher at the one paper with a tiny real flame, with little Clawd peeking out in a firefighter hat
Flex's short answer

Ask one question of every urgent thing, which is what happens if it waits until tomorrow, and you'll find most of it can. The few that can't are your real fires.

✱ Flex's tips

Find the real fires.

1

Line it all up

Every ping, email, and hallway ask in one place.

2

Run the tomorrow test

What breaks if this waits a day?

3

Buy time politely

"On it. You'll have it Thursday." calms most people down.

4

Do the real fires

Only the short list that truly can't wait.

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

Everything at work feels urgent today. Here's my list, with names and private details left out: [paste it. For each thing, say who asked, by role, and when they said they need it]. If I didn't say what happens when one of them waits until tomorrow, ask me. Then sort the list into truly today, this week, and can wait, and draft a short, polite reply for each one that can wait, with the day they'll have it.

Before you paste work stuff into any AI, check what your company allows.

When everything is urgent every single week, that's ongoing. The free Lab shows you how to hand that work to Claude.

Free tool

Fire or Smoke?

Eight office messages, all marked urgent. Tap which ones are real fires and which are just loud.

Play a round
Flex the robot at his desk with alarm bells ringing on every folder, calmly aiming a small fire extinguisher at the one paper with a tiny real flame, with little Clawd peeking out in a firefighter hat
Inside the Lab

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✱ What people ask
What are urgent but not important examples at work?

Most pings, most "quick questions," and meetings about meetings. Loud, but they can wait. Flex has a page on it.

Why is everything urgent at work?

Because everyone's list lands on you, and each person only sees their own ask. Flex has a page on it.

What if I'm being pulled in too many directions at work?

Put every ask in one list and give each one a day. Flex has a page on it.

✱ More from this pile: Everything is urgent
Why is everything urgent at work?What are examples of urgent but not important tasks at work?Pulled in too many directions at work?How do you improve your sense of urgency at work?How do you avoid distractions at work?How can you be effective at work? Fire or Smoke?
From Nikki's blogFlex tells you how. Nikki tells you what it felt like. Read it on Clawd and Me. Read it →

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