Project Management

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Is multitasking making project managers less productive?

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Pavan Maddi
Community Champion
Buona Vista, Singapore

As project managers, we often wear multiple hats jumping between meetings, stakeholder updates, risk management, and team coordination. While multitasking feels necessary, I’ve noticed that deep focus on one task often leads to better outcomes.

Have you all found a balance that works? How do you all manage competing priorities without losing efficiency?



Let’s share insights and strategies that have helped us stay effective without feeling overwhelmed.

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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
Pavan -

Multitasking is bad for ANY role requiring cognitive focus. The solution is to focus on what's most important (e.g. your top three list) and block time off in your calendar for those activities. It is also valuable to not book 100% of your time recognizing there will be surprises that will need your attention.

Kiron
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1 reply by Pavan Maddi
Apr 02, 2025 8:33 PM
Pavan Maddi
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Great point! Thanks for sharing!

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Rami Kaibni
Community Champion
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten Associates New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Pavan, by nature, the PM role requires multitasking. However, the key is to prioritize and focus on the activities that add the most value
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1 reply by Pavan Maddi
Apr 02, 2025 8:33 PM
Pavan Maddi
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Well said! Project managers juggle many tasks, but focusing on the most valuable ones makes a big difference. Prioritization helps manage workload effectively without feeling overwhelmed.



Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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Pavan Maddi
Community Champion
Buona Vista, Singapore
Apr 02, 2025 4:18 PM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
...
Pavan -

Multitasking is bad for ANY role requiring cognitive focus. The solution is to focus on what's most important (e.g. your top three list) and block time off in your calendar for those activities. It is also valuable to not book 100% of your time recognizing there will be surprises that will need your attention.

Kiron

Great point! Thanks for sharing!

avatar
Pavan Maddi
Community Champion
Buona Vista, Singapore
Apr 02, 2025 6:32 PM
Replying to Rami Kaibni
...
Pavan, by nature, the PM role requires multitasking. However, the key is to prioritize and focus on the activities that add the most value

Well said! Project managers juggle many tasks, but focusing on the most valuable ones makes a big difference. Prioritization helps manage workload effectively without feeling overwhelmed.



Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

avatar
Pavan Maddi
Community Champion
Buona Vista, Singapore

Early in my career, I took pride in handling multiple tasks at once, but over time, I realized that switching between tasks often led to mistakes and rework. Now, I prioritize deep focus whenever possible blocking time for critical tasks and grouping similar activities together. That said, some level of multitasking is unavoidable in project management. The key is knowing when to switch and when to focus.

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