“It’ll Only Take 5 Minutes!” Why That’s One of the Most Misguided Lines in PR

We’ve all heard it.

“Hey, can you take care of this? It’ll only take like five minutes.”

It might come up as “Can you just write a quick post?” or “Throw together a press release real fast?” or even “Just grab a photo for this journalist super quick!” And usually, the person asking doesn’t even realize how loaded that sentence really is. But here’s the truth: Nothing worth doing in PR or in any professional field tied to reputation, storytelling, or brand is actually done in five minutes, or even 15 minutes.

On the surface, a social post can look simple, a headline can sound short, and a photo can seem easy to find or create, but that’s all surface. The real work, the meaningful work, happens long before the request for this one quick thing. It is the time spent researching the brand, understanding the audience and platform nuances, curating the messaging, the voice and tone and the brand positioning. For visuals it is brand styles, typefaces and product logo requirements, and all the little things that maintain continuity across all brand communications, social media, and published work. Doing a job well in PR means holding all of this in your head; and doing it without missing a beat.

If you spend any time around professionals in PR, design, law, accounting, or even fine dining, you’ll notice there’s almost always a minimum billable increment, often an hour. People outside those industries sometimes take that personally, as if these professionals are working for a few minutes and then on vacation for the rest of the time. In PR, here’s the real reason: It’s not the doing that takes the time, it’s the thinking behind the doing. A seasoned PR pro isn’t just on autopilot typing out press releases, they are working to understand the brand’s history, competitors, customers and their lifestyles. Only by becoming fully immersed, can a PR pro anticipate questions and objections, choose clear and concise words to convey messaging, and authentically align visuals with the narrative. All of these things also protect the brand from mistakes that can have major consequences.

You wouldn’t want your chef rushing your dinner because someone said, “it’s just a sandwhich.” You wouldn’t want a mechanic rushing a safety check because it’s quick brake job, and you definitely wouldn’t want your CPA speeding through your taxes because it’s only numbers, and I have a simple return.

Attention to detail matters in every craft that protects you, whether it’s food, finances, or reputation. Most of us would agree it takes way more than five minutes to get to know someone and understand what makes them tick, or learn what they care about and be able to speak in a way that reflects that, and you expect when they do speak about you, they take their time to get it right and say the right thing. PR professionals do that for brands. We spend time learning brand language and mapping FAQs, building relationships and anticipating how media will interpret and reuse messaging. That’s not quick work, that’s thoughtful work.

PR can absolutely move fast when needed, but speed isn’t something you assume. It’s something you earn. You earn it by knowing the brand inside and out, as well as understanding the media landscape to anticipate pitfalls before they happen so you can execute a clear strategy with confidence. When a pro can turn something around quickly, it’s not magic, it’s experience, expertise, and proper preparation.

So instead of asking, “Can you do this? It’ll only take five minutes.” Try this, “What does it take to do this right and when can we get that version out?” That shifts the focus from speed to quality, and maintains an elevated brand standard. If you want something done right, something that actually serves your brand, your message, and your goals it’s never a five-minute job.

That’s professionalism, that’s craft, and that’s why doing it right is worth every minute.