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Ask Flex / Everything is urgent

Ask Flex

Pulled in too many directions at work?

One list. Not five.

Where the asks live

"Two emails, a chat message, a sticky note, and something my boss said in the hallway."

"Monday: the report. Tuesday: both emails. Wednesday: the hallway thing. Thursday: the rest."

What you tell people

"I'm on it!" (To all five. At once.)

"You'll have it Wednesday."

An example. Your asks, your call.

Flex's short answer

Put every request in one place and give each one a day, because jumping between them is a big part of what wears you out. One list beats five people's lists in your head.

✱ Flex's tips

One list. One day each.

1

Catch every ask

Email, chat, sticky notes. Nothing lives in your head.

2

Make one list

Merge it all and cut the doubles.

3

Give each a day

A simple plan for the week, in order.

4

Tell people when

A date calms people more than a fast answer.

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

People keep asking me for things at work. Here are the requests, with names and private details left out: [paste them, with who asked, by role, when they need it, and about how long each one takes]. I have about [number] hours a day for these. Put them in one list, cut the doubles, and suggest a day for each one this week. If a due date or a time is missing, ask me before you pick a day. If a day ends up with more than fits, tell me, so I can ask which comes first. Then draft a short reply to each person saying when they'll have it.

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

If five people's asks land on you every 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 if I'm feeling pulled in too many directions?

Get every ask out of your head and onto one page. The feeling shrinks when the list is in front of you.

What do I do when everything is urgent at work?

Ask what breaks if it waits until tomorrow. Flex has a page on it.

How can I be effective at work?

Do the things your boss really judges you on first. Flex has a page on it.

✱ More from this pile: Everything is urgent
What do you do when everything is urgent at work?Why is everything urgent at work?What are examples of urgent but not important tasks 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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