We have all heard that some people are better at multitasking then others. My question is; does multitasking help a person complete project tasks successfully in the total time allowed for those tasks? Besides having multiple tasks to complete, there are also phone calls, IMs, emails, meetings and other interruptions that are relatively constant throughout a Project Manager’s typical day.
One habit that most of us face, throughout our lives, is losing focus. Once you are able to consistently focus on one task at a time it will then become easier to conquer this habit. Some things that can help you to stay focused are prioritize tasks, address one task at a time and keep the tasks small. Keeping a task small may involve breaking a large task down to several sequenced smaller tasks. If a critical task surfaces, address it and then go back to the task that you were working on prior to the critical task. If there is an interruption, try and schedule it for a later time, ignore it or keep it to a minimum.
I found the following link interesting on how to identify “bad multitasking” and ways to avoid it. Along with the tips is a podcast.
http://pm411.org/2009/09/29/podcast-episode-047-schedule-killers-bad-multitasking/
Podcast episode 047: schedule killers – bad multitasking September 29, 2009 By Ron Holohan, MBA PMP
Tags: agile, Leadership, management, performance measurements, Project Manager, project team
