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Three Easy Ways to Multitask: Or, How to Survive and Thrive in the Face of Multiple Responsibilities
by Lisa Bodenheimer
Picture this: you go into work one day, and find out that a person in your unit is leaving. You are asked to take on this person's responsibilities until a replacement is hired. You also have your own job to do. What do you do? (Besides panic, that is?)
In 1996 this happened to me over a period of approximately nine months -- our serials cataloger left, and I was asked to take on the responsibilities of that position in addition to my normal duties as monographs cataloger. I had some experience cataloging serials, and so, according to my supervisor, I was the "most logical person to do this." My first reaction to that request was, "ohhh, my goodness." Then I went back to my desk and panicked. How in the world would I handle both jobs? What could I do to make it easier? Three things occurred to me immediately.
My first step was to talk with my supervisor and define exactly what the priorities were for both positions. We also, in my supervisor's words, "divided the world," and decided which duties each of us would cover. My supervisor was willing to take over at least one of my duties as monographs cataloger to allow me more time to take on the extra serials cataloging responsibilities. This conversation gave me a clear idea of what I needed to focus on. I also learned that my supervisor did not expect me to be superhuman and cover all of the duties of both jobs, which did wonders for my confidence.
My next question was, "well, how do I train myself to do this quickly and effectively?" This brought me to step 2: Use existing resources and the expertise of people close at hand. In my case, I was taking on supervisory responsibility for an experienced serials copy cataloger. Over a period of several days, I shadowed her as she went about her normal duties. During this time, we updated some outdated documentation. I also found support and needed information through cross training with the Serials Acquisitions staff and learning how our jobs supported and complemented each other. I started paying attention to serials-related questions on electronic mail lists I belonged to. I also learned a lot simply by doing the job. For example, if the copy cataloger gave me a serials cataloging problem and said, "I really don't know what to do with this one," I would smile and go read CONSER documentation.
Another question that arose was, "okay, just how do I manage both jobs every day in an environment where the workload is intensive?" This yielded step 3: time management. I reverted to a practice that had worked for me in library school, scheduling myself time to work on each job. Generally, I tried to spend mornings on the serials job (since that was when I was "freshest") and afternoons on the monographs job (since it was the job I knew best). Of course, there were times when all of my planning would go out the window, largely because of something that needed rush cataloging or because of interruptions, meetings, or simply the tilt of the earth on its axis. I simply adjusted the schedule and went on. This insured that something got done on each job every day -- maybe not as much as I'd hoped, but the most important things got covered.
About four months after taking on the serials responsibilities, I had another surprise. Our special formats cataloger resigned. I wondered if I'd have that thrust upon me too. No, that didn't happen automatically -- I asked for it! Having the chance to do another job made me realize that I needed a change, so I asked if I could move into the special formats position permanently. I found that my three steps worked here too: prioritization (during which my boss said she would take over the monographs cataloging responsibilities until we hired a new person); initial training (consisting of the former special formats cataloger's excellent documentation, appropriate cataloging resources, and external workshops); and time management (I started working multimedia cataloging into the schedule as needed).
In early 1997, we hired a new serials cataloger, and I was involved in her training. Then we hired a new monographs cataloger, and I was involved in her training. Then I got to do my new multimedia job exclusively. After so much time juggling two jobs, doing just one seemed strange. But it was also a relief, because I was able to focus on learning my new duties (and dealing with the multitasking inherent in cataloging six different formats!).
From this experience, I learned that multitasking is manageable; it does not have to be cause for panic (or insanity). When things were at their craziest and I felt overwhelmed, I would sit down and say, what is ONE thing I can do right this minute? Sometimes it was working on a serials title change, sometimes it was doing personnel paperwork, and sometimes it was going down to the staff lounge for chocolate. At those times, I would also remind myself that I had been given a chance to broaden my skills and to therefore be a better librarian. Sometimes this reminder did not help (only chocolate helped then!). Most of the time it did, however. As a result of my multitasking experience, I not only stretched my abilities as a librarian, I ultimately gained a new and rewarding specialization.
Lisa Bodenheimer is currently Special Formats Cataloger and Principal Cataloger at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. She received her MLS from Indiana University.