If you work with customers, chances are you can’t remember the last day you didn’t have to multi-task a dozen different things just to get it all done.  But being pulled in too many directions at once can make you feel like you’re coming apart at the seams.

The funny thing is, research has shown that humans really can’t multi-task any more than they can text and pay full attention to their driving at the same time. Anyone who says they can is fooling themself. What we can do is switch gears from task to task extremely fast. So how can you keep it all together while still completing all the projects that need to get done that day?

1. Realize your limitations. If you take on too much at once, you’ll feel overwhelmed and become inefficient. Know how much you can take on before the quality of your work starts to slide.
2. Take the time to organize and prioritize your day.  Instead of making a to-do list, actually schedule what needs to be done. Thinking about what you need to do and when you need to do it essentially changes your brains mental-pathways, training your brain to become more efficient at making the switch between tasks faster.
3. Stop multi-tasking and concentrate on one thing at a time for at least 20 minutes several times a day to allow time to re-energize.  Resist the temptation to ‘quickly deal with’ the first distraction to cross your path.

Taking on multiple projects gets easier with repetition. The more you preform something, the easier it becomes. Take driving for example an activity that feels almost automatic for many people.

Good news for us older workers. Our more developed prefrontal brain cortexes are best at combining tasks.  While learning new things can be more difficult we get better at picking out patterns and prioritizing tasks.