The effect shows our tendency to prioritise perceived time-sensitive tasks over non-urgent tasks, even if the non-urgent jobs carry greater rewards.
This cognitive bias reveals why we will rather respond to emails at the expense of meaningful work. Moreover, research shows that people who feel generally busy are more likely to fall for the Mere Urgency Effect and are less likely to use their time well.

Mere Urgency Effect - Urgency trumps importance

Time Management

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritise your tasks. The matrix is a framework to help you decide what work is really important and what work is not urgent.
<ul>
<li>Block off your most productive 2-4 hours each day and dedicate it to your most important work.</li>
<li>Only check your communication apps at specific times of the day instead of responding to the messages as they come in.</li>
<li>Give your important tasks a deadline.</li>
</ul>

What you can do about the urgency effect

<h1>The Mere Urgency Effect</h1>"Sorry, I'm too busy for anything important right now"<img src="https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect.png" alt="The Mere Urgency Effect explained" width="736" height="1311" srcset="https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect.png 1714w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-862x1536.png 862w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-1150x2048.png 1150w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-112x200.png 112w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-225x400.png 225w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-347x618.png 347w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mere-Urgency-Effect-714x1272.png 714w">We will always have more tasks to complete than time to complete them. How do we decide what to prioritize? It turns out, not rationally at all.The <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/45/3/673/4847790?redirectedFrom=fulltext" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Mere Urgency Effect</a> describes our tendency to prioritize tasks we perceive as time-sensitive over tasks that aren’t time-sensitive, even when the rewards of the non-time-sensitive task are objectively greater. In other words, urgency trumps importance every time.This cognitive bias explains why, despite our best intentions, we get sucked into email and team chats at the expense of more impactful work. Responding to messages invariably feels urgent – there’s always someone waiting for a reply. In contrast, our most important goals are often far off. There are no immediate consequences to putting them off until tomorrow.Interestingly, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191202-how-time-scarcity-makes-us-focus-on-low-value-tasks" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">research</a> shows that people who perceive themselves as being generally busy are even more likely to fall victim to the Mere Urgency Effect. That means those who feel like they have the least amount of time are the least likely to use it well.<h2>What you can do about it:</h2>Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize your tasks. <a href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eisenhower-matrix" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">The Eisenhower Matrix</a> is a framework for classifying tasks as urgent/not urgent and important/not important. The matrix helps you decide what to do with a task depending on which quadrant it falls into.<figure><img src="https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix.png" alt="Eisenhower Matrix" width="736" height="534" srcset="https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix.png 1936w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix-1536x1116.png 1536w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix-275x200.png 275w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix-551x400.png 551w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix-851x618.png 851w, https://25r4fj22vjh18a4i91qamh06-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Eisenhower-Matrix-1751x1272.png 1751w"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eisenhower-matrix" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Eisenhower Matrix</a> can help to counteract the Mere Urgency Effect by getting us to consciously classify tasks as urgent and/or important.</figcaption></figure>Set aside your most productive 2-4 hours each day for your most important work. Dedicate your most productive hours to your most important work. <a href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/time-blocking" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Block that time off</a> on your calendar so you can focus without interruptions.Only check your communication apps at certain times of day. Instead of always responding to emails and messages as they come in, embrace <a href="https://blog.doist.com/asynchronous-communication/" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">asynchronous communication</a>. Set aside specific time blocks for answering email and responding to messages. For example, at 12pm-12:30 and 4pm-5pm. Don’t let email and team chats bleed into other times of your day.If you find yourself opening your communication apps outside of your time blocks, use an app blocker like <a href="https://freedom.to/" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Freedom</a> to lock yourself out at certain times of the day. Alternatively, use an inbox management tool like <a href="https://mailmanhq.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Mailman</a> that batches incoming mail and delivers it at hourly intervals, a set number of times per day, or at specific times.Give your important tasks a deadline. It’s nearly impossible to trick yourself into keeping an arbitrary deadline you’ve set for yourself, so find a way to commit to an external deadline, even if you’re just telling a friend.

Our tendency to prioritize urgent tasks over non-urgent tasks even when we know the non-urgent tasks provide greater rewards.

"Sorry, I'm too busy for anything important right now"

We will always have more tasks to complete than time to complete them. How do we decide what to prioritize? It turns out, not rationally at all.

The <a dir="ltr" href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/45/3/673/4847790?redirectedFrom=fulltext" rel="noopener">Mere Urgency Effect </a>describes our tendency to prioritize tasks we perceive as time-sensitive over tasks that aren’t time-sensitive, even when the rewards of the non-time-sensitive task are objectively greater. In other words, urgency trumps importance every time.

This cognitive bias explains why, despite our best intentions, we get sucked into email and team chats at the expense of more impactful work. Responding to messages invariably feels urgent – there’s always someone waiting for a reply. In contrast, our most important goals are often far off. There are no immediate consequences to putting them off until tomorrow.

Interestingly, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191202-how-time-scarcity-makes-us-focus-on-low-value-tasks" rel="noopener noreferrer">research </a>shows that people who perceive themselves as being generally busy are even more likely to fall victim to the Mere Urgency Effect. That means those who feel like they have the least amount of time are the least likely to use it well.

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize your tasks . <a dir="ltr" href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eisenhower-matrix" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Eisenhower Matrix </a>is a framework for classifying tasks as urgent/not urgent and important/not important. The matrix helps you decide what to do with a task depending on which quadrant it falls into.

Set aside your most productive 2-4 hours each day for your most important work . Dedicate your most productive hours to your most important work. <a dir="ltr" href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/time-blocking" rel="noopener">Block that time off </a>on your calendar so you can focus without interruptions.

Only check your communication apps at certain times of day . Instead of always responding to emails and messages as they come in, embrace <a dir="ltr" href="https://blog.doist.com/asynchronous-communication/" rel="noopener">asynchronous communication </a>. Set aside specific time blocks for answering email and responding to messages. For example, at 12pm-12:30 and 4pm-5pm. Don’t let email and team chats bleed into other times of your day.

If you find yourself opening your communication apps outside of your time blocks, use an app blocker like <a dir="ltr" href="https://freedom.to/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Freedom </a>to lock yourself out at certain times of the day. Alternatively, use an inbox management tool like <a dir="ltr" href="https://mailmanhq.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mailman </a>that batches incoming mail and delivers it at hourly intervals, a set number of times per day, or at specific times.

Give your important tasks a deadline . It’s nearly impossible to trick yourself into keeping an arbitrary deadline you’ve set for yourself, so find a way to commit to an external deadline, even if you’re just telling a friend.

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The Mere Urgency Effect

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What you can do about the urgency effect

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What is Eisenhower Matrix - Definition, Example & History

How to fight the "urgency bias" (and work towards long-term goals)

7 Cognitive Biases That Make Us Suck at Time Management

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The Mere Urgency Effect

Mere Urgency Effect - Urgency trumps importance

What you can do about the urgency effect

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

What is Eisenhower Matrix - Definition, Example & History

How to fight the "urgency bias" (and work towards long-term goals)

7 Cognitive Biases That Make Us Suck at Time Management

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career