Top tips to keep calm when everything is needed ASAP
Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world and list ways to explore these trends. This week, we’re looking at how to keep your cool when everything lands on your desk with an ASAP tag.
There’s always that day at work. Meetings stacked back-to-back, emails piling faster than you can open them, and just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, your boss drops the golden line: Can you get this done today? You smile politely on the outside, but scream on the inside.
If that sounds familiar, this one’s for you.
1. Don't give in to panic mode
When urgency strikes, our brain has this funny way of pressing the panic button. Before you go into full overdrive, give yourself 30 seconds.
Yes, literally 30. Breathe. Look at the task in front of you and ask, Is this genuinely urgent or just wearing a loud hat?
More often than not, urgent just means someone wants it soon, not instantly. Sometimes the fastest fix is just asking the right question. Sending a quick message to the requester: Do you need this today or in the next hour? can save you hours of unnecessary stress.
This is also where internal SLAs come in handy. If your team or department has clear SLAs, you already know the response window you’re working within—and if not, this is a good signal to get those defined. Having those expectations set in stone helps you (and your requester) stay aligned without defaulting to panic.
2. Urgent doesn't equal Important
Let’s get this straight—not everything urgent is important. And not everything important is urgent.
Imagine you’re juggling five balls, but only two are made of glass and the rest are rubber. If you drop the rubber balls, they bounce back. If you drop the glass ones, they shatter.
Work can be a lot like that. Everything looks like it’s flying toward you at once, but not all of it will break if you let it wait.
This little mental filter helps you stay calm even on the most hectic days. Because if you’re prioritizing what really moves the needle, the rest can sit in the waiting room.
3. Break the mountain into pebbles
Urgent tasks often look bigger than they really are. A giant task with an ASAP label can feel like someone just handed you a mountain and asked you to carry it up three flights of stairs.
The trick is to chip that mountain down into pebbles. Write the task out in smaller steps and focus on one at a time. Each ticked-off step gives you a small win, and small wins are powerful fuel for keeping calm.
The same applies to multitasking. Answering emails while making slides and sitting on a call isn’t juggling—it’s draining, and it can take a toll on your productivity. The best thing to do in tense situations is to focus, finish one task, and then move on to the next.
4. Step away to reset
This might sound a little counter-intuitive—why step away when you’re drowning in tasks? Because a tiny pause is exactly what your brain needs to reset. It’s like giving your mind a quick breather before diving back in, and it can change everything.
In fact, research shows that quick micro-breaks (anything under 10 minutes) clear the mental static so your focus snaps back into place. Often, the thing that felt like a fire five minutes ago now looks more manageable.
Final thought
Urgency will always be part of the job, but how you respond decides whether you spend the day running in circles or walking out with your sanity intact.
Like they say, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and the same goes for handling urgent tasks without burning yourself out first.