Juggling Multiple Projects?
Issue #45 - January 23, 2025
It happened again on a call this week. I was asked how do you manage to do so many things? You have the consulting work, the workshops, writing books, and producing podcasts, as well as family life.
The thing is I enjoy being busy and always having something to occupy my time. It sort of just built naturally over the years, as did my ability to manage working on multiple things at the same time.
No matter what we do, whether we are successful, efficient, happy, or not, we only have twenty-four hours in a day. How we spend those twenty-four hours is a trade-off. One of the most basic tenets I learned in my early career as an engineer is that in engineering everything is a compromise. The same is true of time management.
Figuring out what is an acceptable trade off for you as an individual provides the baseline for everything else.
This was reinforced by a post from my friend Jake a few days ago when he posted something on LinkedIn about how he, as a successful serial entrepreneur, manages to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
It made me think about my own approach and was it something I could summarize in a post (or a newsletter)*
And the answer was yes.
Like Jake, my approach to stop being overwhelmed working on multiple projects is also one of understanding those trade offs and being organized about what I do, when..
Use my calendar to schedule activities and tasks as well as the usual stuff like meetings and trips.
Have the To Do list pad on my desk. Review that and the calendar each morning to make any necessary adjustments.
Spend the morning on the small stuff that can be accomplished quickly.
Spend the afternoon on the larger projects that need focus.
Break large projects down into achievable chunks - for instance when writing a book I focus on one chapter at a time.
Have a regular cadence for working on repeatable projects such as newsletters, podcasts etc.
Make sure I stop and have lunch and dinner with my wife, and that family comes first.
I find this really works for me. Allows me to get a lot done while also reducing stress and giving me a great work/life balance.
=============================
* The irony is that while writing the above I suddenly remembered that I had outlined some ideas in a manuscript for a book on productivity I started to write about 6 years ago that got put to one-side to make way for another contracted book project.
Maybe I should figure out where to make time and go finish that book too.
Alan
A Note of Appreciation
Thanks to all the folks who took up new subscriptions recently or read the newsletter since its launch. We really appreciate the support.
We hope that you will enjoy what we have to offer, and remember the easiest way to receive the newsletter each week is to hit the SUBSCRIBE button so it gets delivered straight to your email inbox.
Books on the Shelf
“Epic Content Marketing” by Joe Pulizzi
I was trying to decide which book to start this series with when I looked across at the shelf with all my content industry titles on it and noticed that one book stood out just by the number of page markers and post-it notes fluttering like a field of flags in the breeze from my office a/c unit.
That book was the first edition of Joe Pulizzi’s book on Content Marketing, and it easily the most referenced book on my shelf since it was first published in 2014.
This is not just a book for content marketers. It is a must read for anyone creating and delivering content to customers. And of course the through line is all about the power of storytelling.
If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. An updated second edition, written in conjunction with Brian Piper, was published in 2023.
Talking About Storytelling
Recent Events
Just a reminder you can find my recent conversation with Larry Swanson on the Content Strategy Insights podcast about the power of storytelling at https://ellessmedia.com/csi/alan-porter/
Or you can catch the video version below.
If you missed it you can still access my webinar on Customer Focused Storytelling that was hosted by The Content Wrangler.
Upcoming Events
On March 15th I’m scheduled to speak at the Boston DITA User Group meeting.
I’m looking forward to presenting “Is DITA Just a Story” at the ConVex conference in San Jose in April, 2025.
And in June I’ll be making a return to the CX Behind The Scenes podcast to discuss the AI Hype Cycle.
Weekly Thought
Management consultant and author Peter Drucker once wrote that “the purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer.” This may seem to be an obvious statement, but many companies focus on the first part of that statement to the detriment of the second part.
Customer Focused Storytelling Workshops
We are now taking bookings for our popular Customer Focused Storytelling Workshops for Q1/2025, and we wanted to make sure that as a newsletter reader you got an early opportunity to lock-in a date.
“Weaving storytelling into the mix makes the content more compelling, accessible, and effective!”
Learn how to deliver content-driven experiences that your customers relate to on our two-day Customer Outcome Focused Storytelling workshop.
In this workshop, we will:
Examine content from the customer’s perspective.
Plan how to adapt content delivery to meet the needs of a rapidly changing marketplace
Examine why every business transaction is a story
Outline the 10 Rules of Storytelling as applied to Customer Experience
Apply proven storytelling techniques to your content.
Identify potential opportunities for incorporating storytelling techniques
into the production of your customer-facing content assets.Facilitate an interactive feedback session on your existing customer-facing content.
If you would like more details, or you like to discuss reserving a date for yourself and your team to benefit from a Customer Focused Storytelling Workshop, just email us at ajp@4jsgroup.com to reserve your date.
In The Bookstore
If you enjoy the contents of this newsletter and would like more, we have three books always available from XML Press.
You can also check out The Content Pool website or follow us on FaceBook you can also find Alan on most of the social media platforms @alanjporter.
Please feel free to share the newsletter and pass it around to any friends or colleagues you think might find it of value.
Till next time - have fun paddling in The Content Pool.
Alan J. Porter
The Content Pool™ is a division of the 4Js Group LLC