Five Ways I Stay Organized and Run Multiple Projects at Once.

People ask me how I keep so many things going at the same time. Resource Global, plus Createpossible Ventures, my work at the church, preaching, UpNext, NFL Fantasy Matchup, and more. The honest answer is it requires much discipline each day, and I get a lot of help from the people around me. It took years to figure out a rhythm and to find and work with people who fit my personality.

All of this didn't come overnight. I learned from some wonderful bosses over the years, and I will say my years working in the telecommunications industry early on in my career really prepared me to handle multiple projects at once while being aware of deadlines and pushing to get things done.

1. I plan every hour of my day.

I am very disciplined about how I spend my time. Every hour has a job. This block is phone calls, this one is zoom, this one is email, this one is a meeting. I decide where the hours go instead of letting the day just happen to me and then wondering at night where it all went. It sounds rigid. It is actually freeing, because I am not sitting around just reacting to the latest fire, but I have a list of action items and deliverables each day. I even load up certain days with phone calls, and then keep certain days for just quiet work. I am an introvert, so there is no way I can be on Zoom and phone calls all day or I will burn out.

As one of my former bosses once told me, "Tommy, we hire you not to try your best but to get the job done." So each day I work to get the job done. That's my job. That's what I need to do every day for my team.

I also wake up very early each day, including weekends. The alarm rings at 6:00 AM, and I sometimes do work late at night when everyone is asleep, if I am behind. On vacation I get up early to work before everyone is awake and then work at night when everyone is in bed.

2. I write everything down and don't depend on memory.

If it lives only in my head, I will easily forget it. Over the years, I had to create a system that works for ME to help me remember things. Note that my system works only for me, and you must find your own system. Slack DOES NOT work for me. I prefer Trello. I love Excel spreadsheets and the notes app in Gmail. I literally email myself notes of to do items all the time. I also put it in my calendar to remind myself when I need to work on it. At night, or when I am on the road or in a meeting, I may have a thought, and I have to text or email myself right away before I forget.

3. I have a project manager for my life.

I don't believe in admins, but I do believe that everyone (if they are able to afford it) should have a full time or part time project manager in their life. This person is the point person who coordinates your social media team, the accountant, the designer, your email, your travel, and more. They are literally one step ahead of you, thinking through what you need to do and accomplish each day. They are an extension of who you are, and you guys work hand in hand each day.

It takes a long time to find this person. Identify a person and give them little tasks to see if they are the right fit. They are gold.

Note: start with former stay at home moms. I have found them to be some of the most independent, efficient people I know.

4. I delegate, but only to the right people.

This one took me years to learn. Delegating to the wrong person, or to someone who does not fit how you work, is a disaster. It is worse than just doing it yourself. There's NOTHING worse than taking on a project midway when it's a mess. It's absolutely terrible. You can only really hand something off to someone you trust, and trust takes time to build, so I am careful about who gets what. The first years are always messy, but in time you will find that rhythm. And here is the newer part. Some of my team are now AI. I have subagents I hand specific jobs to, editing, coding, research, design, and they work in the background while I do the thing only I can do. Between the right people and the right tools, I am finally not the bottleneck for everything. So I have a project manager, a team of people who I can work with, and now AI subagents.

For me, I need hard working people who are willing to do anything to get the job done. They never think they are too good for anything. They are self motivated and independent thinkers and doers. They listen well and they are genuine good people. They come to you and explain what they have done and their rationale behind it. Those are the people I just love working with. I tend to look for these qualities over and over again when building a team.

5. I rest on purpose, including a daily nap.

I literally take a 20 minute nap every day, and some days two 15 minute ones. I put my head on the table I work on, or if I am at an office I sit in my car in the parking lot. DO NOT ever lay down on a bed. You will wake up more tired than before you went to take a nap. But just close your eyes and you will feel like you slept for 2 hours. I've been doing this for over 20 years, since my days at Wash U in St. Louis. It refreshes me and resets me. I also take real breaks. After a stretch of work, I get up, walk around, throw a load of laundry in, prep some food for dinner, and then come back to it sharper than if I had just pushed straight through.

You cannot run hard all day and still expect your best thinking to be there at four in the afternoon. I have hobbies. I record a weekly NFL Fantasy Matchup. I study and preach because it also helps to calm me down. I binge watch shows late at night (NCIS, Reacher, Jack Ryan, Gerard Butler movies, FBI, and more) and I love my sports a lot (NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB). I also have a wife and two wonderful daughters, so I love hanging out with them a lot. And then I have a group of friends who I have served with and journeyed with for over 25 years. I can just be myself with them.

None of this comes naturally to me. These are just the rails I built over the years so I stop dropping things. Put them in place once, and they carry the weight, so you are not the one carrying all of it.