How do you handle doing so much work all at the same time? Especially for companies just starting out, this question in very important.
If you’re anything like me, you are juggling your schedule between school work, internships, and your work for your own business. Not to mention everyday life between that! You have to keep that special someone happy (and he/she typically likes you to not be busy!), you have to keep up with your family, you have to manage fun events with friends, and all those other miscellaneous activities. My point is that you are sure to be busy at any point in the day.
I’m actually here to encourage you not to multitask in your professional work, and I have three good reasons why.
1. You cannot create a good schedule
First things first. You need to have a schedule to keep yourself on top of things. So make one for yourself. Each day, set aside a certain amount of time for each thing you need to do in order to finish those things by a given deadline. For example: each morning I wake up and edit photos and videos I have sitting in the edit bay. I take a break at lunch for an hour or two, and go back to it. I finish working at dinner time, and take another break to eat dinner and talk to friends for a while, then work on the website and social media until I go to bed (which unfortunately is usually pretty late). List the things you have to do, and get a good schedule going to finish them in a timely manner.
1. Things start getting confused
When you multitask, some things start slipping your mind faster than others. What you don’t want to happen is to forget what your client told you about what they wanted. for each project, your client has a certain expectation for the product that you are creating for them. Multitasking meshes all your projects together in your head, and it’s hard to remember what each one needs to be a successful and excellent product for the person you are working for, be it your own work, an internship, or for any other professional matter.
3. You cannot focus on one thing
Especially with photography and videography, if you have several projects waiting to be edited at the same time, you devote most of your thought to your “favorite” one. For example, if you have 3 video projects to complete, you will only create one solid product, one mediocre product, and one mediocre/poor product (speaking on professional terms. Clients may love your worst work, anyway!) The oldest project usually gets your least attention. The newest ones are typically fresh in your mind, and you want to crank it out with all the ideas you have in your head about it. Focus on one thing at a time! Try not to complete new projects before old ones that need to be finished.
I love multitasking when I’m not in too big of a rush. When I am taking a break, I may check facebook, eat, and listen to the television all at the same time. But when it’s time to work, it all shuts off, and I get the work done unhindered (unless your other half is stubborn and absolutely HAS to finish “So You Think You Can Dance” auditions or another show of equal value.)
Multitasking has its place. When you figure out when and where multitasking is good, efficiency starts improving.
