#017: Fighting the Tyranny of the Urgent (2026 Edition)
I recently listened to an audiobook from 1967 called Tyranny of the Urgent. It couldn't be more relevant for those of us using AI or in digital worker roles in 2026.
Last week I listened to a Tim Keller sermon on the Gospel in Life podcast (my favorite) when I heard Tim recommend a book by Charles E. Hummel called Becoming Free. I couldn’t find the book, but I did find another Hummel gem called Tyranny of the Urgent (1967).
The title alone sparked my interest, as I’m balancing a lot right now across work and life. And with AI’s tyrannical impact on my day-to-day, the timing for this book could not have been more urgent.
The fact is that we’re all drowning in AI noise right now. It is a constant ‘sense of urgency’. The narrative is that if you’re not keeping up with AI, you’re going to be made irrelevant. So everyone is trying to figure it out, but it’s impossible to keep up. New models release daily, new partnerships, new launches, and a new AI podcast launches every ten minutes it seems.
So when I heard this book plug I instantly went to Spotify and listened to it. The best part? It’s only an hour long! I was expecting a book written in 1967 to be dense and ‘old school’. But Hummel knew his audience. He wrote a book that was fit for those of us ‘in the urgent’. And it really hit the mark.
I’ve sectioned his book into three key principles and I’ve added a 2026 translation for each:
1. The Battle: Urgent vs. Important
The Enemy: We all get bombarded with loud, immediate, reactive technology alerts seemingly every minute. I’m a hypocrite, because even while writing this essay, I counted and responded to seven different messages/alerts. So I’m not saying this is easy, or that I’ve perfected this. And I bet that Hummel didn’t either!
But it’s still something to strive for. Our phones (texts, Ring doorbells, app alerts) are totally destroying our focus. The way we work is all “alert - react” motions—draining everyone and causing massive burnout. Worse yet, the important items get lost. This is the quiet, long-term, meaningful work.
Fighting Back: I intentionally set aside quiet times with zero technology allowed in the early mornings and in the late evenings. I turn off my phone at night once it hits 8:00PM, and I don’t check notifications or emails before I have my personal time of solitude in the morning. As a man of faith, that looks like reading the Bible, praying, and meditating on God’s word to get “centered”.
Without this time, I’d be a train wreck! Avoiding constant busyness leads to deep work and less neglect of things that actually matter like your relationships, purpose and growth. Also, I set aside time each day to take 1-2 mile walks at regular intervals throughout the day. This forces me to step away and regain perspective on the bigger picture, slows down my blood pressure, and regulates my nervous system to be less in ‘fight or flight mode’ which I find myself in through the battles of work and life.
2. Misaligned Priorities Create a Life of Frustration
The Enemy: Priority confusion leads to us feeling overwhelmed because we’re afraid we’re spending time on the wrong things. The result of unclear priorities is unfinished meaningful work, anxiety about what we should be doing, and a sense of drifting instead of directing our lives. This is all about being busy without being effective.
Fighting Back: One very tactical thing I do is use a personal planning app that I built using Cursor that is visible in my web browser. It’s a simple way to build a daily view into my personal vision and mission statements, my top three objectives for the year and checking in on how my daily plan aligns to those priorities. This requires an annual planning exercise where I think through my main goals, and align my time allocation accordingly.
I calendar off sections of time throughout my day to give myself general guidance on important things I should focus on, and this helps me effectively attain my annual goals. This is truly an effective solution to the modern malady of ‘busyness without effectiveness’.
And some projects take a long time, like writing a manuscript for my next book. So I block out 20 minutes per day over one or even two years straight. Small effort every day over long periods of time leads to big results.
3 The Solution: Intentional Living (with Spiritual Anchoring)
Hummel contrasts the two opposing forces as;
• Chronos (clock time, schedules)
• Kairos (purposeful, meaningful time)
The model example he uses is Jesus:
• He wasn’t rushed
• He wasn’t reactive
• He was directed and intentional
Bottom line: you escape urgency by choosing purpose—daily, deliberately.
Clean takeaway:
• Most people are busy reacting
• Few people are intentionally living
• The difference is priority discipline
Practical Tips - Getting Started TODAY
If this all feels overwhelming to you or discouraging because you feel ‘busy and not effective’, I’m in that space often, I get it. A great starting point for me is simply doing the following:
Block out two hours of uninterrupted time and turn off your phone.
Break down your time as follows;
Start with five minutes of deep breathing in total silence. Seriously, you’re worth it.
Then sit there and think for 30 minutes. Don’t DO anything. Just think in silence. The ‘tyranny of the urgent’ will try to keep you distracted. Let it die slowly. The first five minutes is the hardest.
For the next 60 minutes, answer these questions in no particular order:
Where do I feel God calling me?
What do I want?
Where do I feel I’m called? What is my mission?
What gives me energy? What angers me? What gives me joy?
What gifts do I have? How can I use them more?
Where am I wasting time?
Can I find 20 minutes tomorrow to do this again? (Add it to your calendar)
Final 30 minutes, simply write down the top things you truly want to do with your life. That’s it!
Take your final list and continue to do this exercise for as many sessions as it takes. Refine and refine. Think. Pray. No devices. Repeat.
Once you have a general list of priorities (keep it to less than ten) begin to organize them into three buckets based on themes. I just like using 3x3 for plans. You might not want any organization, I get it! But I build them like this:
Bucket 1/2/3
Sub-item 1/2/3
Sub-item 1/2/3
Sub-item 1/2/3
Then what I do is build these into a dashboard using Cursor. If you don’t know how to vibe-code, that’s okay. Just take a picture of your priorities, and add it to a chat, then ask your AI Assistant (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, Copilot) “How can I take my list of personal priorities and build a dashboard that I review daily?” Use AI. It will help guide you to building a dashboard that you can review daily.
Anyway, I will leave it there for now. I hope this helps you out. Again, this isn’t about ‘controlling all outcomes’ or trying to run the universe which believe me, I’ve tried to do. This is about planning and time management, which is wise.