#UniversityofLife: How To Multitask Effectively

You’ve most probably heard the scornful saying: “Don’t be a jack of all trades, but a master of none” – this is a figure of speech commonly used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills, but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one. Some people see doing multiple things at once as a restriction to your creativity and innovation, but I would like to challenge that. Richard Branson is a good example of someone with his hands in many pies from Virgin Trains to Virgin Planes he does it all, but the big question is how? How has he become a jack of many trades and master of them all? I cannot answer how he personally has done it because my name is not Richard, but what I can do is tell you my secret…

…My secret of being able to do many things at once, is the art of being able to give EQUAL attention to EACH thing you’re doing. It’s a bit like juggling. When juggling balls you have to give each ball the SAME push with the SAME force otherwise you mess up the flow, and mess up the rotation, and when one ball comes down, all balls come down with it, and before you know it you’ve fallen victim to the contemptuous saying and you’re criticised for attempting to be a jack of all trades and a master of none! When you’re juggling multiple projects or businesses you should be sure that you have enough hands to catch every ball, consistently. Like clockwork. Without fail! The multi-taskers with their hands in many pies are those who have mastered this ability of giving EACH pie the SAME push. To juggle more than one thing effectively, you have to give each thing the same amount of attention. You cannot afford to neglect one and look after the other. Give each thing you do and each thing you have the same attention. I consider myself to be a multi-tasking juggler with my hands in different pies and the reason is because I believe that it is important to always consider your vision and look to the future for where you are going and who you becoming. If your vision is big enough and if your dream is grand enough, sometimes it means taking on multiple projects at once, despite the difficulty. Just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It is possible and sometimes it’s just a case of separating the dormant projects from the active projects, and applying your focus on just the active projects. Juggle those active projects and juggle those well, and then when the time is right and you have enough hands to juggle more balls, add the additional ball(s) from the dormant projects.  Use this principle on ANYTHING, literally anything…

…Except your spouse. I do not recommend you juggle more than one spouse and think you will be effectively multitasking by giving Spouse No.1 in Lewisham equal attention as Spouse No.2 in Catford, and then giving Spouse No. 2  in Catford equal attention as Spouse No.3 in Bromley. I will not be held responsible for the outcome of the misuse of this law! lol. Happy Juggling!