I've been pondering on this for most of the week, trying to come up with something that is reasonably succinct and 1000 words or less.
On the multi-tasking--it is a bit unnerving that this has become such the kudo and prime skill for us. For me, it brings to mind the saying "jack of all trades, master of none". You do lose something when you have to do so many things at once. IMHO, I think it's something we've done for a long time, but has been taken to impossibly high levels at our work. Think about it, when you cook a meal, you are multi-tasking, making sure that everything gets done at the same time and the table is set. If you have kids, you are keeping an eye on them and cooking/cleaning/doing something else. Unfortunately, this skill that we've perfected in our private lives has turned into a monster at work.
Regrettably, multi tasking will not go away, so you have to find a way to keep it in check. In my office, it means keeping track of everything, and making sure that everything has been done and there are no loose ends and nothing unravels. (yea, RIGHT!) I have found that David Allen's book, "Getting Things Done" has been fantastic in terms of focusing my multi-tasking, so that I don't spin my wheels and I can maximize my efforts. As a previous poster mentioned, I write down EVERYTHING so I don't have to waste memory space trying to remember it. I also am very good at setting boundaries. It does help that I'm 40+++++ and this is my second career, so I don't get "encroached" on as much by the disaster-prone office incompetents. I have also been told that I am not very "approachable" (read--doormat), which helps with the boundaries as well.
In terms of stress, you simply must learn to let things go. If something goes wrong or you get blamed or, or, or, you cannot keep flogging yourself. Take copious notes, put procedures in place to avoid it in the future, then let it go. When other folks keep reminding you about it, smile professionally and change the subject. It's not easy, and it WILL take effort and time, but it is an absolute skill. How you do this varies from person to person. Mediation, cognitive/behavioral techniques (like thought-stopping), physical exercise, crafting skills are all possibles (I do meditation, yoga, knitting and being slobbered on by my basset *grin*). It will take time and discipline, but it is a learnable skill. I learned it in my former life as a musician, and it is probably one of the more valuable things I survived with from those 20 some-odd years.
Sorry for the book. It's one of the topics that the hubster and I can converse on for HOURS.
