The modern working world is nothing if not one beset by multitasking. Indeed, research covered in HBR revealed that an incredible 80% of employees are juggling at least a few projects at any one time. This extreme multi-tasking is part of the modern ode to busyness, whereby our very value at work is defined by how much we’re doing.

Research from the University of Liverpool reminds us, however, that such practices are not actually good for us, either in terms of our wellbeing or our productivity. The researchers examined projects done by a large multinational firm to understand who was responsible for what, how time was allocated, and the monthly targets the project adhered to. They also examined the HR records to understand more about the employees to understand the workload of each participant.

The right mix

The analysis found that juggling more than five projects at any one time is typically found to be excessive and is likely to diminish the quality of each project and harm the likelihood of deadlines being reached. Similarly, however, working on fewer than five projects can also diminish the productivity of employees.

This is because when we have fewer projects on the go, we’re more likely to be idle. For instance, if there are delays in one project we can switch over to others if we have a few on the go at once, but if we don’t then we have little choice but to twiddle our thumbs.

What’s more, if we work on a number of projects, we’re more likely to develop effective habits. Indeed, exposure to various projects makes it more likely that we’ll stumble across better ways of working.

The flip side is that when we have more than five projects, we’re more likely to suffer from a lack of focus, with our brains stretched in too many directions.

Without a choice

While five projects at once seems like a good amount, in reality, many of us lack any real choice or agency in terms of the number of projects we can take on. As such, the researchers point out three conditions that can help us to manage multiple projects:

• Specialization helps – When we better understand ourselves, we’re better able to specialize in tasks and not have to start afresh with each new project. This helps us to get up to speed faster.
• Do you need new solutions? It’s quite possible that projects are sufficiently similar that almost identical solutions can be deployed time and again. This cuts down time dramatically.
• Pick teams wisely – As before, the researchers argue that if you’re working with familiar faces then it requires less coordination time and effort, so projects can get done faster. This lack of diversity is likely to also reduce any innovativeness of the team, so use it with caution.

Projects are an inevitable part of modern working life, so understanding how to manage our workload to ensure the best results is likely to be extremely valuable, regardless of whether you’re an employee, a manager, or an organization more broadly. Doing so effectively can produce win-win situations for employer and employee alike.