The Urgency Trap
Even when we step away from direct clinical care, the pressure doesn’t stop; results, emails, meetings and admin all compete for our urgent attention.
And with clinical productivity dominating the narrative, the pressure can feel relentless.
While 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 is both urgent 𝐚𝐧𝐝 important, rightly requiring our full attention, the challenge often lies in managing everything else.
Within this 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝, it’s almost inevitable that we prioritise what feels urgent, leaving little time for what’s equally important, but not urgent.
This is the 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩, the human tendency to prioritise time pressured tasks over those with greater long-term benefit, simply because they feel urgent.
For our ancestors, this made sense. We’re hardwired for it:
𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. This overrides our values-based decision systems so we equate time pressure with importance.
𝐃𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 rewards quick action, reinforcing a cycle of urgency, action, reward.
𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 disconnects the prefrontal cortex, making us more reactive, narrowing perspective.
The result? Attention shifts away from the long-term towards what feels fast and productive, a state of 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.
So, in our remaining working time outside of our direct patient facing work, how do we escape the urgency trap, prioritising those things, service improvement, reflection, learning, building connection, that are important but less urgent?
As the Kings Fund (2021) states “The current workload and pressures on staff leaves little space for learning, reflection and improvement.”
The answer, for many of us, is to borrow time from our non-working lives; this isn’t sustainable and bears a cost to ourselves and those we love.
As I have discovered, there is no simple solution, but here are a few suggestions that might help:
𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. Notice when you’re constantly firefighting, feeling guilty when not busy.
𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, asking, “Is this really important right now?” Can I delegate, automate, eliminate some of this?
𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Mute inbox notifications when focussing on deep work.
Involve clinicians in setting digital threshold alerts.
Fight for whatever opportunities there may be to create ring fenced time and space for deep work. None of this is easy, as I know from bitter experience.
But creating even a little space for the non-urgent but important can be transformational. And each time we pause, reflect, and create time for it, we all benefit.