BUSINESS
Professional juggling
How to handle multiple competing priorities under pressure by Erin Saunders, ON Services There’s also science behind the power of the list. Daniel Levitin, the author of The Organized Mind explains, “Most people can only hold about four things in their mind at one time. List-making takes that mental juggling out of the picture. You don’t have to think about what you have to do, and you’re not distracted since it’s written down in front of you (Basu, 2016).” Lists are a way to understand the tasks ahead, capture new things as they are thrown at you, and take the pressure out of trying to remember what you need to focus on.
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Valentin Salja and Kathy G. Johnson
There are things we can do with a little organization, planning, and strategic multitasking that can help us get through the busy times without missing a beat.
Customers are calling. Deadlines are
UAC MAGAZINE | FALL 2019
looming. Employees have questions. Positions are open. We’ve all been in situations where we feel like there is more on our plate than we can possibly tackle in one sitting. These times can feel overwhelming and stressful.
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There are things we can do with a little organization, planning, and strategic multitasking that can help us get through the busy times without missing a beat. First, understand what is really in front of you. Make a list of all the things you need to get accomplished. This is most likely going to be a fluid list, as demands are going to change. Lists create a tangible way to track our priorities and tasks ahead of us.
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Next, prioritize your list. Consider the urgency or deadline associated with each deliverable. Understand the impact of focusing on the task vs. delaying it. How important is it that you tackle that action item? Once you understand the urgency and importance, you can decide what to focus on first. Don’t forget the power of tackling those small or quick items on your list. Studies have shown that each time we cross off a task on a list, our brains release a small amount of dopamine, a chemical in our brain that helps with motivation and positive reinforcement (Saez, 2019). It also matters whether you like the task you’re completing. If there are things you don’t like to do, or are dreading, it’s best to complete them all at once. In her Yale Course, the "Science of Well Being," Professor Laurie Santos explains, “If you have a horrible problem set that you don’t want to do, do the whole thing at once. Don’t break it up into 15-minute things where you take a break, because every time you go back to it, it’s going to be bad (Santos, 2019).”
