Tips and strategies for juggling multiple projects effectively.
It’s tricky to manage multiple projects at once. You have the task of managing timelines, resources, and expectations. These things can lead to burnout and stress, ultimately leading to decreased performance and possibly illness and time off work. According to the UK Government statistics, the level of stress-related illness and time off work has increased since the Covid pandemic and over 17 million people took time off work due to stress and anxiety in 2023.
Everyone knows stress and overworking are not good, yet it is easy to fall into the trap of doing more than one is capable of doing. Of course, it is good to push yourself professionally, and managing one project at a time might not be stimulating.
Time management
Good time management is key to managing multiple things. A technique which I am trying to implement in my life is timeboxing. This is where you set yourself a block of time to work on a specific task. This method aims you to focus on one task for a set time and nothing else. When the time is over, you can move on to something else.
You can also incorporate the Pomodoro technique into timeboxing. The Pomodoro technique is a great way to block out time for short periods (usually 25 minutes).
Avoid multitasking – The purpose of timeboxing and Pomodoro is that you should be concentrating on one task or objective at a given time. It’s a common misconception that if we work on multiple things simultaneously, we are being productive. But that isn’t the case. Our brains can’t cope with multitasking.
Prioritisation – Before you start timeboxing, you should prioritise the tasks you want to work on. I prioritise things either in priority order from top to bottom or using a number prioritisation method: 1 = important, 2 = not as important and can wait.
Software
Every day, the first thing I do is prioritise what I need to do. I like to keep things simple using a to-do list like Microsoft To Do.
You can use Kanban board software such as Jira, Azure DevOps or Asana to prioritise work too by rearranging tasks in priority order and then moving them into the required swimlane based on their status (to do, in progress, completed).
Delegate
Remember, you don’t have to do everything yourself. If there are certain things you are struggling to do, then ask for help.
When at work, ask a colleague for assistance on that spreadsheet you are working on. If you are a solo business owner, can you ask a virtual assistant or someone local for help?
By delegating your tasks to others you will help remove any blockers causing you stress. We often get into a rut of thinking that we must do everything ourselves, but this isn’t always the case.
Of course, if you ask someone for help, be polite and return the favour, if they ask you for assistance.
Stick to the project plan
Another key way of managing multiple projects without burning out is to stick to the plan.
You should be asking yourself these key questions:
What is in-scope, what is not, and what does the timeline look like?
Am I on track?
Is this essential – Are there other tasks that take priority?
Are you going to hit the deadline and is this going over budget? If yes, should you stop?
Who can help me? Can you delegate.
Should I alert senior management before continuing? Sometimes, there are decisions to be made that can helped by asking a senior management team for suggestions.
Answering these questions on a reguluar basis and also checking in with others will help give clarity on your direction.
To finish off, another question you could consider is, am I enjoying this?
If you feel that you are always burning out when managing projects, then that is a good reason to take a break, go on vacation and reset.
If you love what you do, you will do it no matter what.
When I was a kid, I could play football all day without ‘burning out’. If you are constantly feeling burnt out, it could be that you need a change and that you should look to do something that is both challenging but enjoyable. Do something that makes you feel proud.
