9 Steps For Managing Multiple Projects Efficiently

We like to think managing multiple projects is like being behind a drum set, where each limb needs to work independently, but all of them still need to work together to keep rhythm, since your projects are bound to influence one another.

Now, when it comes to project management, 85% of your colleagues oversee multiple projects at the same time, which is a staggering number. And if you fall into the group of more experienced “drummers”, you probably already know that 22% of them run 10 or more projects.

So how do you do it? How do you keep a steady beat and keep everything from turning into a random racket?

Fortunately, there are plenty of tips, tricks, and techniques you can rely on to make your managing of multiple projects more streamlined, as well as more successful. Here is what you need to know.

1. Define Goals, Objectives, Plans, and Expectations Right Off the Bat

When projects are very complex, managing just one is complicated enough, let alone several. That is why you need to consider as many possible scenarios as you can to prepare for each one, and preferably have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

If you are running a project without clearly defined measurable goals, workflows, and processes, it’s almost a given that you and your team will lose focus and start to veer off course. In order to wear multiple project hats successfully, you will need to determine project goals, milestones, and start and end dates for every project, as well as the person in charge.

Make sure to factor in time for miscellaneous and unforeseen situations, such as the time spent waiting for approval, redoing tasks, providing feedback, or giving approvals. As for project milestones, you should use them as progress indicators and fine-tune your approach in case you are falling behind schedule.

Also, be mindful of your team members and their capacities. Switching back from one project to another can be mentally taxing, so set aside time for some breaks or minimal workload periods in your plan to enable your project team to recuperate and remain efficient.

2. Prioritize Work That Has the Biggest Impact

The best-case scenario when working on multiple projects is when it’s obvious which project is the most important one. You and your team prioritize it, and you’re off to the races. In real life, however, that sort of scenario doesn’t come by too often.

In most cases, you will be faced with projects that seemingly have a similar impact on your agency. For instance, one project could have a huge impact because it could bring in new customers and new revenue, while the other would help you keep your existing customers. Which one do you prioritize?

Go back to the first step and consider your agency’s goals and expectations, because you should always put a high priority on a project that aligns with the biggest goals.

In the aforementioned case, a better choice would be to prioritize the project which helps you retain customers, because customer lifetime value is more important for your business. As a result, make sure that that project has the resources and the staff it needs, and then determine who and when will work on the other project.

Also, resist the temptation to tackle the easier projects first. They never turn out to be quite as easy as you think they are.

3. Use a Centralized Platform for All Your Projects

Juggling multiple Excel sheets and tools is a project unto itself. Why not make it easier on yourself by having a centralized platform like ActiveCollab that acts as your single source of truth for all of your projects?

ActiveCollab productivity workspace enables you to manage all of your projects, deadlines, teams, and resources in a streamlined and efficient manner. Here are some of the benefits of using ActiveCollab project management tool:

It’s also much easier to manage multiple projects when all the information you need is present in a user-friendly manner. For instance, ActiveCollab uses Gantt-like charts that quickly provide you with all the crucial project schedule information.

By not having to switch among different tools, you get to keep your focus and improve your productivity, save time, and reduce the likelihood of errors. And because you know what everyone on is working on, you avoid falling into the trap of micromanagement.

4. Know When to Delegate

Your ability to effectively delegate work when working on multiple projects should be your bread and butter. We get that you want things to be done right, but controlling every single aspect of every project not only makes you a micromanager but also creates significant delays and bottlenecks in each of your projects.

You have a capable team on your hands. You know your team members, what their skills are, and what they can do. It’s time that you start trusting them. Delegating responsibilities is beneficial in several ways.

First, you reduce your workload, so that you can focus on making strategic decisions and deal with project-critical issues, such as handling roadblocks or dealing with stakeholders.

Second, once your team members see that you trust them with important tasks, they will feel confident in their abilities and empowered to do their best work. However, when delegating duties, make sure that you do these three things:

By knowing who needs to do what and by when, you introduce accountability.

5. Create Project Schedules With Maximum Team Productivity in Mind

When managing multiple projects, keep in mind that they don’t exist in a vacuum. Even if there aren’t dependencies between them, they still have an impact on each other. How is that possible?

Well, remember that you are you have the same team members working on several projects. If they experience burnout on one project, how do you think they are performing on all the other ones?

That is why you should create schedules for each project while being aware of the full scope of work your team will need to do on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis. This includes sticking to the following principles:

• Stagger start and end dates for similar projects: Given that you will most likely have the same people working on projects that are similar, make sure that the start and end dates of those projects are separated by a period of time, so that you don’t have your team members scrambling to get their work done on half a dozen different projects at once.
• Identify duplicate tasks: If two or more projects require you to do similar work, consolidate it.
• Take note of dependencies: For example, if you are planning to redesign your agency’s website and switch to a different CMS at the same time, it makes sense to schedule the CMS-related project to be done before the website redesign.

6. Keep Your Team Flexible

With so many moving parts spread across multiple projects, it’s nearly impossible to predict absolutely everything. Regardless of how much work you put into making sure that everything goes according to plan, something is bound to go wrong.

In order to be able to adapt to things like changing project scope or goals, you need to select team members who are flexible and able to adjust to shifting circumstances as opposed to fighting them.

This is why having a powerful productivity and PM tool like ActiveCollab can do most of the heavy lifting, because it provides an easy way for you to assign tasks to different team members in accordance with changing demands.

Another useful tip is to determine dates on your schedule that are more flexible and which are fixed, so that you can adjust the timing of your projects in case an issue arises.

7. Stay Focused

The thing about multitasking is that it’s a really nice idea, but it doesn’t really work. When you are trying to balance several projects at once, your focus tends to get scattered and you end up spending more time on each task than you would by doing them in succession.

And then there are endless distractions, emails, phone calls, social media, and miscellaneous busy work that eat into your time but don’t help you make any real progress.

Here are some ways in which you can deal with distractions and remain productive throughout the day:

• Allow for an email-free time of day: Set aside a timeslot during which you won’t check your email. Pick the time of day during which you are at your most productive, and work on high-value, high-priority tasks.
• Time-box your activities: To make the most of your productive hours, create timeslots for specific tasks and stick to them. For instance, you can work for two hours on developing your agency’s marketing strategy. Or you can use time-boxing to cross a whole bunch of small, one-off tasks off the list.
• Allot a specific timeslot for distractions: Here you do the opposite of the first point. Allow for a specific part of the day where you will deal with all the distractions, answer emails, deal with office issues, and take a short break by looking at your social media notifications.

8. Communicate Regularly with Your Team

Keeping everyone on the same page when you are working on multiple projects simultaneously is essential, and that’s why constant and transparent communication is on this list.

Use all the tools and methods you can that will help you establish clear communication, from messaging to regular meetings. The latter are especially crucial, because they enable you to keep project stakeholders and team members informed every step of the way.

During regular meetings, provide all the relevant information about the progress of your projects, setbacks, roadblocks, updates, and modifications, if there are any. In case there are actual problems, offer solutions that will bring the project back on track.

As for the frequency of these meetings, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, as each project is unique. Some require daily meetings, while others will only require you to check in with your team once a week.

9. Review Your Plan on a Regular Basis

This brings us back to the first item on this list: project planning. It’s important and necessary, but you should never follow it as if it’s set in stone. Projects have a lot of variables that will, just like their name indicates, change over time, and you won’t be able to control all of them.

We’ve mentioned that your team should be flexible and able to adapt to new circumstances, but so should you, because sometimes one of those variables can change your entire outlook on your projects.

The solution? Make it a point to organize regular audits or reviews of your original plans and see where updates and changes need to be made in order to complete the projects successfully.

Potential Challenges of Managing Multiple Projects

If you have already managed multiple projects, you are already aware of the majority of obstacles you will be facing. If you are new to this, make sure to pay to prepare yourself for the following hurdles you will come across:

• Poor resource allocation: In a multi-project environment, you most likely won’t have the luxury of simply hiring more people, or asking for more money and time. You can, however, plan carefully so that projects that use the same resources overlap as little as possible.
• Lack of prioritization: Treating all projects equally and not prioritizing them according to their impact can lead to all sorts of issues, including delays, poor resource handling, and budgetary problems. Prioritize your projects with your resources, as well as market changes and opportunities, in mind.
• Mutual dependency between two or more projects: Multi-project management also features plenty of tasks that correlate with each other, which means that they can create a ripple effect across several projects if not handled properly. We recommend mapping out all the dependencies and introducing mitigation strategies.
• Ineffective communication: With an increasing number of projects, communication becomes more complex, which can lead to misunderstanding. To avoid this, decide on clean communication protocols and tools right from the beginning.
• Too much information: A single project can make your head spin with the sheer volume of information you’ll need to process, let alone multiple ones. Keep track of it inside your head, or even using Excel sheets is downright impossible. Project management tools like ActiveCollab enable you to organize all the relevant data in a location and manage all your projects from start to end.

Conclusion - How to Leverage ActiveCollab for Juggling Multiple Projects

As an agency owner, team lead, or project manager, juggling multiple projects is not something you’ll deal with on occasion: it is your reality. How you approach that reality is up to you.

Using the tips we have provided in this blog post can make your job a lot easier. Also, with ActiveCollab, you can make it even easier by using it as your single source of truth, as well as overseeing all of your projects’ details.

You can even make sure of the existing templates for similar projects, which will save you a ton of time.

Ready to make 100% of your projects a success 100% of the time?