Important, Not Urgent

The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show

Chase Jarvis

Careers, Self-improvement, Education, Business

4.8 • 649 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hey friends, Chase here

This episode is short and direct — and it centers on an idea that quietly changes everything once you really see it: most people aren't stuck because they're lazy or unmotivated. They're stuck because they confuse urgency with importance.
We've been trained to react. To answer what's loud, immediate, and demanding. Emails. Notifications. Small fires that feel productive simply because they need attention right now. But being busy isn't the same thing as making progress — and activity is not the same as effectiveness.
What I've learned over time is that the best work of your life rarely feels urgent in the moment. It's the work you could put off. The work that doesn't break anything if you ignore it today — but quietly shapes everything if you commit to it consistently.

Here's the core idea:
Real progress lives in the important, not the urgent.
When you prioritize what actually matters — even if it doesn't scream for your attention — chaos starts to fall away. You still work hard. You still show up. But you stop letting urgency dictate your life and start choosing your direction instead.
This episode is about stepping off the hamster wheel, building systems that protect your time and energy, and learning how to focus on the work that moves your life forward — not just fills your days.
In today's episode I cover:

Why being busy is often a distraction from what matters most
How to think about urgent vs. important work
Where your biggest creative and life gains actually come from

If you've been working hard but feeling like you're spinning your wheels, this episode is an invitation to slow down just enough to aim better — and to make space for the work that truly counts.
Until next time, choose what's important — not just what's urgent.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is brought to you by my weekly email.
0:03.6	If you, by chance, are not subscribed and had no idea, for example, that I put out an email
0:08.8	every week for the past, let's call it 10 years, then I would encourage you to check out
0:14.4	chasejervis.com slash email because it's in this little tidy package that I send out
0:20.4	the things that are on my radar. These are
0:23.7	creative challenges. These are interesting insights that I've learned from a life in the trenches.
0:29.3	These are the latest breaking technological stuff, specifically around AI and creativity.
0:34.3	If you're interested in future-proofing, your career and your life, I put my time
0:41.4	and attention every week. I personally write this email, personally press send. Please check it out.
0:47.2	I encourage you to join tens of thousands of people who receive this email every week. I would
0:52.0	love to be in that very private space that we curate called
0:55.6	our inbox. It would be a treat to be able to connect directly with you. I also read every response.
1:02.5	I can't respond to every response, but I read. If you want to send me an email back, I read
1:08.4	every response weekly. And this is one of the things
1:11.6	that I feel like is a direct connection between me and you out there in the community, even way
1:16.5	more so than social media. If you're looking for the place where I put my most important time and
1:22.4	attention every week, it's on this email, go check it out at chase jarvis.com slash email. Never spam. It's easy to
1:30.4	unsubscribe if you ever decide you don't want it. And again, where I put my energy and attention is in
1:35.8	this communicate to you. Looking forward to seeing you there and being in your inbox. Now,
1:40.9	back to the show.
1:55.3	Hey, everybody, what's up? It's Chase. Welcome to another episode of the show. This week's show is special because it's a micro show and it is designed with a very specific intent.
2:00.7	It is the intent that I am so tired of.
	...

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