I don’t mean the title as “you’ve been using it wrong”. I mean it as everyone has been doing it wrong, IMhO*.
See, I say the whole thing as As Soon As Practical. Yes, everyone knows it is As Soon As Possible, but I do not believe that is the best approach. I will grant that it may have been quite practical when first uttered.
Google tells me:
“ASAP” stands for “as soon as possible”. It originated as U.S. Army slang in 1955. Today, it’s used to add a military-style urgency to requests.
Synonyms for “ASAP” include “promptly”, “stat”, “chop-chop”, “double-quick”, “on the double”, “soon”, “post-haste”, “lickety-split”, and “quickly”.
“ASAP” is frequently heard in relation to scheduling and project management, but is also widely used in other business-related and non-business contexts.
I think it is worth a moment to mention that this is the first time when I have written “Google tells me”, I mean it literally. In the past, spoken or written, my meaning would have been that the search results provided at google.com directed me to a site that told me that (and then I would site the site, because I when I steal IP, I don’t do it where it is easy to catch me). But when writing this post, I am one of the guinea pigs for the Generative AI search results from Google Labs. Now, back to my originally planned rant…
Now, in 1955, as soon as possible would have a very different meaning in many contexts. To get a note from one place to another required physically transporting it, and if you wanted to know how many miles and how long it would take to transport it you would use a paper map and pen or pencil to figure out the answer is anywhere from 1 to 20(ish) minutes. Now, it will rarely take more than a minute to perform those calculations that I wouldn’t need anyway because it will be done electronically and be there as quickly as the firewalls and other security measures between here and there allow.
Here in 2023, as soon as possible may not be practical. While I think I am the first person to present you with this alternative usage, if you use Microsoft Outlook you may already be familiar with the concept. They have had a feature for many years to schedule an email to be sent later, at a more practical time. More recently, it will even suggest that you delay the email until a the recipient’s working hours.
Plus, it was the U.S. Army (according to Google) that originally coined the phrase, and in the military they are supposed to know the priorities because they are giving them, so as soon as possible in that context generally means right now. Outside the military and outside 1955 (and definitely outside both) it would be very presumptuous of someone to assume that anything they are requesting is more important than anything the requestee may be doing. The person being asked (or directed) could be working on solving a much more important problem that requester is unaware of, or have some good reason for prioritizing another activity. It is important to respect the person as much as the situation.
Also, work that is rushed is often of lower quality than which is given full attention and skill, so the result of as soon as possible may not be what is desired compared to what is as soon as practical. Starting out with practicality over possibility communicates that attention to quality is valued.
I also will describe my own response to a situation with as soon as practical rather than possible to set expectations appropriately. Because requests rarely come with the full knowledge of everything else my time is dedicated to. Like loosing a stream of consciousness onto the internet.
*Starting a new convention, as in In My not-so-humble Opinion
