Let’s face it: “ASAP” is the four-letter word that haunts every software engineer’s dreams. It’s that dreaded acronym you see plastered across emails, Slack messages, and sticky notes like some sort of dark spell that was unleashed to wreak havoc on your carefully planned sprint. On the surface, ASAP—or “As Soon As Possible” for those lucky enough to not know—is just a request to get things done quickly. But peel back the layers, and you’ll find that ASAP is the gateway drug to chaos, burnout, and, let’s be honest, some pretty terrible code. So, why does this seemingly innocent phrase hold so much power, and how has it managed to curse even the best-laid plans in the world of tech? Let’s break down why ASAP is a curse that keeps on cursing.
1. ASAP: The Productivity Killer in Disguise
At first glance, ASAP might seem like a productivity booster. “Get it done quickly!” sounds efficient, right? Wrong. ASAP is the enemy of prioritization. When everything is needed “as soon as possible,” nothing is truly urgent, and everything becomes equally important. This leads to a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, where engineers jump from task to task, putting out fires instead of focusing on meaningful, impactful work. The curse of ASAP turns your carefully curated to-do list into a chaotic mess, where the loudest voice in the room gets the attention, not the most critical task.
2. Quality Takes a Back Seat
Here’s a fun experiment: ask someone to build you a house, but tell them it needs to be done ASAP. Do you think they’ll take the time to lay a solid foundation, carefully measure each cut, and double-check the electrical wiring? Not a chance. The same goes for software development. When everything is needed ASAP, corners get cut, testing is rushed (or skipped entirely), and best practices are thrown out the window. The result? A codebase that’s about as stable as a house of cards in a wind tunnel. Technical debt accumulates, bugs slip through the cracks, and future developers curse your name as they try to unravel the spaghetti code you left behind.
3. The Burnout Factory
The curse of ASAP isn’t just about code quality—it’s about people. Constantly working under the pressure of ASAP deadlines is a one-way ticket to burnout. Engineers who are perpetually told to deliver “as soon as possible” start to feel like they’re never good enough, never fast enough, and never on top of their workload. The stress of always being in firefighting mode takes a toll on mental health, leading to exhaustion, decreased motivation, and eventually, burnout. And when your team is burned out, productivity plummets, turnover increases, and you’re left scrambling to find replacements who will inevitably be greeted with—you guessed it—more ASAP requests.
4. ASAP: The Communication Breakdown
One of the most insidious effects of ASAP is how it erodes communication. When managers and stakeholders use ASAP as a default, it signals a lack of clarity and planning. It’s a shortcut to avoid meaningful conversations about timelines, priorities, and realistic expectations. Instead of asking, “What will it take to get this done?” or “How does this fit into our overall goals?”, ASAP becomes the default answer. This creates a vicious cycle where engineers stop pushing back, stop asking questions, and start accepting that everything is urgent, even when it’s not.
5. The Domino Effect of Disaster
The curse of ASAP doesn’t just stop with one task or one project—it has a ripple effect that can bring down entire teams. When one project is labeled ASAP, resources are pulled from other projects, timelines get adjusted, and soon everything is delayed. Suddenly, every project has become an ASAP project, and the entire team is caught in a never-ending loop of rushed work and unmet deadlines. It’s like a game of Jenga, where each ASAP request pulls out another block, making the whole structure more unstable until it inevitably collapses.
6. The Illusion of Progress
ASAP is often used under the guise of making progress. The idea is that if things are done quickly, then progress is being made. However, this is usually just an illusion. Sure, tasks might be marked as “completed” faster, but at what cost? The quality of the work is compromised, technical debt piles up, and soon you’re spending more time fixing problems caused by ASAP requests than actually moving forward. The illusion of progress is just that—an illusion. Real progress comes from thoughtful planning, clear priorities, and a focus on quality over speed.
7. Why We Keep Falling for It
You’d think by now, we’d have learned our lesson about the dangers of ASAP. But like moths to a flame, we keep getting burned. Why? Because ASAP is seductive. It feels like action, like momentum. It’s a quick fix in a world that values speed over all else. Stakeholders love it because it sounds like things are getting done. Managers love it because it gives them a sense of control. But, like all quick fixes, the curse of ASAP comes back to bite you when you least expect it.
Conclusion: Breaking the Curse
So how do we break the curse of ASAP? It starts with changing our mindset. Instead of defaulting to ASAP, ask questions. What’s the real priority? What’s the impact of rushing this task? What’s a realistic timeline that ensures quality? It’s about setting clear expectations and having honest conversations with stakeholders about what can be achieved and when. It’s about pushing back against the culture of immediacy and valuing thoughtful, well-planned work over rushed results.
The next time you see ASAP creeping into your inbox or project board, take a step back. Remember that the curse of ASAP is a choice, not an inevitability. And sometimes, the best way to move fast is to slow down, think, and plan. Because in the end, quality work done right will always beat work done ASAP.