[ad_1]
This morning, I learn Dwayne Phillips’ A New Writing Project at Home. I’ve the identical drawback, though my independent consulting guide is NOT YET DONE. (These capitals are for me, not you.) The guide is not performed but as a result of I am ready for different individuals (indexer, cowl designer, format particular person) to complete their work. (In some unspecified time in the future, a guide makes use of a serial lifecycle.)
Nevertheless, I’m not beginning one other guide but. As a substitute, I’m doing different work that I can full in comparatively small chunks at anyone time. Sure, I’m context-switching. However I am not multitasking.
That is as a result of I can choose up a brand new job, end sufficient of it, after which postpone the remaining components of this undertaking to the long run. I am not incurring the everyday prices of multitasking as a result of each time I end some work, I depart it in a clear state. If I feel I do know the subsequent steps, I can depart myself breadcrumbs for these steps—however I typically needn’t.
Each undertaking’s clear state means I do not litter my thoughts. I do change contexts and depart the work clear. I don’t multitask and depart myself with a messy thoughts.
That is my private tackle each Manage Interruptions with Defensive Project Portfolio Management and Three Secrets to Manage Multitasking Even When More Senior People Insist.
Ideas for Clear Work Context Switching
Listed here are the ideas I exploit to maintain my work clear after I context-switch.
- Visualize all my work. You possibly can’t sequence it if you do not know it exists.
- Proper-size the work, both with the work dimension or the period of the work. (I are inclined to my work into 30- to 90-minute chunks. That is my proper dimension.)
- Make certain the work is clear if you cease. If mandatory, I do much less work in a given timebox, simply to verify I depart the work clear.
- If the work is larger than I believed, resolve what to do. That is after I would possibly do much less, or rank this work greater for my subsequent out there timebox. However I select what to do. I do not blindly proceed this work.
Multitasking creates messes in our minds, with unfinished bits of labor.
As a substitute, with even handed context-switching, we will make sequential progress on a number of initiatives. Provided that we preserve the work clear and postpone the subsequent piece of labor till the subsequent acceptable time.
And now, I am off to learn proofs for the consulting guide.
Associated
[ad_2]
