The Multitasker

What’s on the iPod: Innocence by The Airborne Toxic Event

My aunt has two homes — one here in the Philly area and one in Florida. She says of her coming back here “Re-entry gets tougher every time.”

After many weekends of projects and planning, I get it now. Each weekend has been jammed with stores and designers and choices –enough to make Mondays look damn appealing. This weekend was no different. We spent a glorious fall Saturday outside, but we were looking at soapstone slabs. Fortunately, our choice was easy and we didn’t labor over it for weeks like every other decision in this kitchen-updating project.

Like true multitaskers, we writers are not happy unless we have two major things going on at once. Last week it was the roof and the furnace. This week, it’s the kitchen and the floors in other rooms. Carpets have come up and we’re debating other carpets doing the same. Wood or new carpet? In one room, the decision was easy. The rest — not so much.

Once again, I’m damn glad it’s Monday. The madness takes a break for eight hours.

Luckily, the study is undergoing no change right now, and when it does, it will be paint and possibly revamped wood floors. For now, I can get something done and have my routine, despite bare plywood in the halls and soapstone samples littering the kitchen island. It’s all over there. I’m over here.

Maybe it’s because I’m used to multitasking, but I’m finding it perfectly acceptable to undergo two big things at once. With the last two projects, my work flow wasn’t all that affected, and I finished some projects without any interruptions. Once you get used to the pounding and the staple guns the roofers use, it’s easy to ignore the noise.

Still, if we undergo two or more rooms ripped up for any length of time, it’s going to be a challenge. Sort of like having four clients show up at the same time with projects requiring your attention, isn’t it? Well, different, but similar in how much your attention is drawn in various directions.

It requires a bit of planning, and no small amount of discipline. Here’s how I’ve handled the multiples:

Prioritize. Start by deadline. First due should get first attention no matter when it came to you. That’s not to say it gets the lion’s share of your time — only that it has to be scheduled among one of the first you’ll tackle. Suppose George wants his brochure by December 1. Cynthia wants her white paper by the same time, but here comes Eliza, who needs her sales sheets by November 25. On my schedule, she would get an extra hour because of the closer deadline. Cynthia’s would come next due to the size of it. George’s project would get an hour, but only after I get the first two in a good place.

Time it. It’s so easy when you have three or four projects to spend a lot of time racing back and forth, spinning your wheels, and having your attention flit from one to the other. You can’t really get anything done that way, can you? What I do is put a time limit on each one once I decide the order in which I’ll be working on them. I keep a timer running (I’ve even busted out the oven timer when there’s a danger I’ll overstay my welcome on a project). When the time I’ve allotted is up, I put it aside and start on the next one.

Remove distractions. Emails get answered at lunch time, phone calls go to voice mail, and breaks are taken away from the computer (and all time-sinking computer games). I warn the other occupants of the house that I’m going to work later or I can’t be interrupted.

Take breaks. There’s something refreshing about ten minutes away from electronics. I take a break with a cup of tea that I take to the garden swing, or I walk out to get the mail, or take a quick stroll around the neighborhood. My process is to exhale and visualize all the stress and work melting away. It’s amazing how those little breaks revitalize, but also bring in ideas to help get over that sticking point.

Renegotiate deadlines. You’d be amazed at how many deadlines are arbitrary. Try going back to the client, or stating up front that you need an extra day/week/weeks. It’s often possible to spread the work out and give yourself a little breathing room rather than forcing yourself to meet impossible deadlines.

How do you multitask effectively?