Do you know how to address something you can’t deal with immediately at work?
Listen in today as Lindsay and Michelle share several expressions.
These are perfect when talking about putting things off so you can deal with them later on.
Right now or later?
Lindsay asks Michelle what she does when she has an issue.
Does she usually tackle it right away or does she kick the can down the road?
Michelle responds that if it’s a confrontation she kicks the can down the road.
She tries to avoid it, especially if it’s not necessary to deal with it right away.
Lindsay agrees and mentions that it’s totally human to avoid confrontation and keep the peace.
The expression ‘kick the can down the road’ can be used in your personal life or even in business and formal conversations.
Michelle heard someone use it regarding a problem at work and realized it is great for your vocabulary arsenal.
Kick the can down the road
This means to avoid a problem because you would rather deal with it in the future.
It can also be about postponing action out of fear, indecision or to avoid confrontation.
There are many situations at work where this happens.
- You know you have to talk to your boss about your pay rate, but you are avoiding confrontation, so you kick the can down the road until the next year.
- Your team made a mistake in a presentation. You should address it, but you decide to kick the can down the road until you have to start the next one. You will address it then.
Examples:
- We’ve been kicking the can down the road in this situation for too long. We need to just get it over with and call them today.
- We should give her a warning, but I’m so unconfrontational. I just want to kick the can down the road until maybe she stops on her own.
- We know we need to make a second hire, but we are so busy. Let’s not kick the can down the road.
Related expressions
There are several synonyms and expressions you can use to say that you’re delaying or avoiding something that needs to be done in the future.
Lindsay and Michelle recommend using a variety of these words so your conversations sound more dynamic.
This will also help you express yourself more clearly and prevent you from sounding repetitive.
#1: Put it off
This means to delay something and revisit it in the future.
Example:
Let’s put this purchase off for another year. We don’t have the budget for it right now.
#2: Put it on the back burner
This expression means to no prioritize something at a later time when needed.
Example:
I know it’s important to go to this gala. I don’t know. Let’s put this on the back burner until next quarter.
#3: Postpone something
This is a more direct way of saying you will not take action on something now.
Example:
We should postpone our decision. We don’t have all the information yet.
Roleplay
Here is a quick roleplay from Lindsay and Michelle, using the tips and vocabulary shared in today’s episode.
This roleplay will help you better understand how you can apply all these in your own conversations.
In this scenario, Lindsay and Michelle are meeting about a coworker who has not been pulling her weight.
Lindsay: So, I don’t know. I think we should just forget it for now.
Michelle: Yeah, but how long are we gonna be ok with kicking the can down the road? You know it will happen again.
Lindsay: You’re right. We shouldn’t put it off any longer.
Michelle: We’ve been putting it on the back burner. We shouldn’t be afraid of the confrontation. It will be fine. Let’s not postpone this again.
Lindsay: Sounds good.
Learning to prioritize
When at work or in your personal life there are constantly things to deal with.
You must determine what you can handle now and what can be saved for later.
It’s not humanly possible to do everything at once.
You have to be strategic with your time and effort.
Learning to prioritize and compartmentalize can save you a lot of time and brain power.
You can kick things down the road if needed to not get overwhelmed.
Takeaway
You need the right vocabulary and expressions to articulate that you’re going to deal with something later.
This can help you connect and express yourself correctly.
Especially at work, you must know how to allocate your time and effort.
Today’s vocabulary could help you move something to the back burner so you can focus on a more urgent and important task.
Check out episode 493 of The Business English Podcast: Reserve, Preserve, Conserve – What’s the Difference?
Do you often have to delay a task until later at work?
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
