Virtual event
How to Prioritise When Everything Feels Urgent
Exclusively for public servants and policymakers
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
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Speakers
What to do next
- Catch up on the 8-minute highlights above or dive into the full recording
- Join the Life in Government Community
- Check out our upcoming events Nerve-Busting Tactics for Confident Presenting and Hacks for Working with Spreadsheets
Resources
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The Life in Government Community is a collaborative space designed for Apolitical members to connect with peers in the global public service and ask and answer questions on life in government.
Event Description
When everything is urgent, decision-making gets noisy. Learn how to cut through the chaos and choose what to do first without guessing, panicking or working longer hours.
This event will give you practical, defensible ways to handle competing incoming asks from multiple directions. You will learn simple frameworks to weigh impact, risk and deadlines, spot false urgency, set clearer trade-offs and push back with language that protects relationships as well as your time. You will leave with repeatable approaches you can use to tackle your next inbox surge, leadership ask or cross-team deadline clash.
You will hear from experienced public service leaders and practitioners, who will share practical examples and simple methods you can use to decide what to do first. Expect a mix of prioritisation methods, boundary-setting wording and tips you can take back to your team to make priorities visible and agreed.
Image Credit: Unsplash
Speakers
Paula Vital
Senior Advisor, Cabinet Office, Government of Ontario
Canada
Paula Vital, a certified Yoga and mindfulness coach. As a lawyer and a public servant, she is very familiar with how challenging it can be to balance a stressful and wearying worklife with time for self-care and family. She leads a wellness program that teaches yoga and meditation to public servants and political workers in the Ontario Public Service. She is passionate about ensuring mental and physical wellness in her own life and sharing her skills with others so they can do the same.
