Photo credit: Flickr/ wwarby

This is something that we’ve discussed quite a bit at work recently – the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks. I think that most people can intuitively tell you what the difference is between the two if you’re discussing it over a cup of coffee.

In order to be an effective engineer, you need to spend as much of your time as possible on what’s important, right? That should almost go without saying. The problem is, when we’re faced with the situation (like when Ted from procurement is standing over you at your desk demanding to know what part numbers will be used on this contract) where we have to decide if something is actually important , or just urgent, we tend to make crappy decisions.

What’s Important

Important tasks tend to be things that:

• Bring you closer to your goals
• Things that your boss asked you to do
• Things that you personally find important

Things that bring you closer to your goals are important because your goals are inherently important. Your goals are the fundamental reason you show up to work. Often, your goals are shared with other members of your team, so it’s important to make sure you’re pulling your weight. Finally, your goals are probably what you’ll be evaluated on during your annual review, which means your salary and career advancement depend on it.

Next, things that your boss asks you to do are also important. It may not always seem like those tasks are important to you, but they’re important to your boss. That means they’re important to you, too. Again, your boss probably conducts your annual review, so you should pay close attention to what your boss asks you to do. In short, your boss’ requests are almost always more important than requests from other people.

Finally, you get a say in what’s important. You have to take into account what you value and what you want to do with your career. If you don’t take an active role in deciding what’s important and fulfilling for you, you’ll just float through your career, wondering why you’re not a happier engineer.

What’s Urgent

Everything.

Well, OK, maybe not everything is urgent, but it sure feels that way. Most requests come at the eleventh hour, which is unfortunate, but true. You’ve got to get good at deciding if these urgent tasks are important. If they’re not important, sorry – no can do. This is tough for any engineer, let alone new engineers, but you’ve got to develop this skill. It’ll quickly set you apart from the rest because, lo and behold, you get important things done. Holy cow.

As you might imagine, some urgent things are actually important. I recommend you tackle those items pronto. Step away from the blog, and go do that stuff now. Seriously.

Hot tips!

What do you do to make sure you’re addressing important tasks and not just fighting fires with urgent requests? Share your strategies in the comments section below.