Hello, this is Katie.
I have recently started working as a Project Manager in Kansas City.
Feeling like a typical office person, I would like to share my experiences and maybe a few tips that I learn along the way.
Comparing myself to colleagues again
Project Managers get distracted all the time. Clients call while you are working on a different project, claiming the situation is more than urgent. I still haven’t found a perfect way to keep multiple things in my mind, do more things at once and easily get back to something I have left in the middle. While having a conference call with a client, I find it very challenging to keep a schedule in my mind and remember what to do next. I’ve seen colleagues having important phone calls while they answer their emails. I am not even able to make myself a cup of coffee at the same time!
Multi-tasking: good or bad?
Remember when Lynette Scavo from Desperate Housewives had to change her daughter Penny’s diaper in the middle of a job interview? “See me multi-tasking!“ she said. She got the job.
It has always been said that women are good at this. But are they really?
And is multi-tasking a good thing or a bad thing?
I did a bit of research. It seems like multi-tasking can only work when you are trying to combine two very different activities, like running and listening to music.
According to most scientists, multi-tasking results in doing all of the tasks poorly. It releases Cortisol, a stress hormone which affects the mental capacity of one’s brain. Some even claim that multi-tasking can lower your IQ points by up to 10!
Multi-tasking? Not at work
And as to women being better at multi-tasking, it turns out they are better at switching back and forth from one task to another. And whether that’s true, or whether it’s based on the individual person, I think the important point is that we each have to know ourselves a little better. Lynette Scavo can come up with great work ideas while preparing a delicious meal. People people like me are better at finishing one task at a time.
What I need to do now is to find a technique for keeping up with deadlines and not getting too distracted by client calls.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.
Yours,
Katie
