The Juggler's Guide to Managing Multiple Projects

CHAPTER 1

The Art of Juggling

You may remember an act from the old Ed Sullivan show where a man takes a plate, balances it on the end of a long pole, and gives it a spin. Then he repeats the process with another plate, then another, and another until there are about eight plates spinning. During the rest of the act the man runs from pole to pole, shaking the poles carefully in turn to keep the plates spinning. The plate spinner is always just a second away from disaster.

That is what it means to juggle multiple projects. Normally, the study of project management focuses on managing a single project. Most available material on multiple projects focuses instead on time management and priority setting. These are vital skills. In fact, if you ...