#3.1 Juggle all the balls

On the other hand, what we can do is Switch Context. Focus on one task, jump on another one, get back to the original one, pick up the third. However, switching contexts is not without cost. It is tiring, and with every change you need time to refocus and get back into the flow of working on given piece of work. Depending on the research, it is estimated that a person needs 15-40 minutes to get into the Focus Flow and immerse themselves in the complex task. That's the reason why Tom DeMarco introduced  the concept of Uninterrupted Hours vs. Body Hours. You can make a lot of progress in one hour of focused, uninterrupted flow - but six 10-minutes long moments, interrupted by five 3-minutes chats or calls won't accomplish you anything. 

OK. So we have our base distinction between Multi-tasking and Switching Contexts. We've also established what is the Flow, and why Uninterrupted Hours are more important than Body Hours. If our goal is to minimise the cost of switching context (and thus loosing focus and getting less Uninterrupted Hours in a day), then the solution is simple: we should Time-box our different activities and keep them separate as much as possible. Unfortunately, that's where the things get complicated again, because "as much as possible" depends of what you do in your role. Let's take a peek at what kind of task can be in scope of some random Consultant's job:

1. Project Implementation - this strongly depends on team setup and project scope, but can include anything from writing code or configuring existing software, to writing down requirements, documenting scope and releases etc.

2. Project Administration - sending out communication to Project members and stakeholders, filling in working hours in Client's systems, triaging tickets

3. Project Meetings - gathering requirements, planning sprints, presenting to stakeholders, training end-users

4. Travel - just travel

5. Team Management - on-boarding new team members, planning PTOs and trainings, managing overtime or hyper-care schedules

6. Internal Administration - all the things your own company requires you to do. Including, but not limited to: putting in your work hours, passing certifications and compliance training, writing self- and peer-reviews, reading all !important! corporate e-mails

7. Internal Meetings - quarterly meetings, integration events, webinars, AMAs, 1-on-1 with your boss/coach/team members 

8. Personal Development - internal and external trainings, keeping up-to-date with news in given industry, prototyping, honing soft-skills

Phew, quite a list! Fortunately, in most cases you don't have to deal with all of them every hour of every day. Unfortunately, many will be "non-negotiable" and "unmovable". Still, not all hope is lost, and it's possible to navigate these and get some work done. More on that, next time!