How to manage multiple projects (and prioritise like a pro)

How do you juggle competing priorities, manage expectations and still leave the office on time? Elizabeth Harrin, Director of Rebel’s Guide to Project Management, gives practical advice on how to do this in the latest edition of her book Managing Multiple Projects.

We thought it would be a good idea to invite her to spill the beans. With her five-part framework (Portfolio, Plan, People, Productivity and Practices), she aims to help you to “tame the chaos, feel more confident and build a way of working that’s sustainable in the long term”. What’s not to like?

Q. So, how do you balance priorities across different projects?

It starts with visibility. You can’t manage what you can’t see. That’s why I begin with creating a personal portfolio – a complete list of everything on your plate including non-project work. Once you can see it all in one place, you can start making informed choices about where to spend your time. There are lots of different prioritisation techniques – including MoSCoW, the Eisenhower Matrix, value versus complexity and the COST model – that help you compare initiatives objectively. Prioritisation is dynamic and it changes based on where you are in the project. A lot of balancing is about having honest conversations with your manager about workload trade-offs. Ultimately, balancing priorities isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things, at the right time, for the right people – and being transparent when something can’t move forward because your time is better spent elsewhere.

Q. Any advice on managing expectations?

Start early and be proactive – set the tone before misunderstandings creep in. When people know what to expect from you and when, it creates a shared understanding and helps avoid unnecessary follow-ups, duplication or rework. I talk to project managers a lot about visibility and communication. For example, combining your project schedules gives you that high-level view of what’s happening when, which is essential when someone asks, ‘Can you just take this on too?’ You can use that visual to say, ‘Here’s what I’m already committed to – which of these do you want me to pause or shift?’ That’s a far more constructive conversation than simply saying, ‘I’m too busy’.

Expectations are also shaped by how you communicate status. I encourage people to report regularly – not just on team progress, but on your own project management activities too. Including those makes the invisible work of keeping the project on track visible and helps stakeholders understand the full picture. Finally, remember that not all stakeholders need the same amount of time or detail. Prioritise who needs what and don’t be afraid to say, ‘You’ll get an update on Friday’ rather than replying to every status request as it comes in. That sets expectations you can meet, rather than defaulting to other people’s assumptions.

Q. When should you say no, and how do you do this in a positive way?

You should say no when saying yes means something else will suffer – whether that’s another project, the quality of your work or your wellbeing. Saying no doesn’t always have to be a flat-out refusal. It can be a conversation about trade-offs, timing and priorities. Instead of saying ‘I can’t do that’, you can say, ‘Here’s what I’m working on right now – what should we pause or deprioritise to make room for this?’

Framing it as a prioritisation conversation makes it feel more like a shared decision, rather than you just pushing back. You’re not being difficult; you’re being responsible. It’s about managing expectations and capacity, not shutting down ideas or refusing to be helpful.

And when it’s just a flat no? Keep it kind and constructive. ‘I’d love to support this, but I can’t give it the time it deserves right now. Could we revisit in a few weeks?’ Make sure they know that it’s a hard no. It gets easier with practice.

Q. How can you best manage conflicting deadlines and demands?

Deadlines and demands only conflict because the prioritisation hasn’t been sorted out yet. Make the conflict transparent so that people are aware of it, then you can work with stakeholders to agree next steps and the order of the work. It’s also worth knowing what the priority of your work is in comparison to other projects. Recently, one of my projects faced a two-week delay as another project had to complete an activity first. We briefly talked about whether we could negotiate on timings with them, but the truth was that we were never going to pull rank on a high-priority project, and it was the right thing that we got out of the way to make space for it.

Q. Any advice on dealing with constant online demands?

I used to advise people to switch off notifications, but I personally don’t do that, and I know the culture of many teams wouldn’t support that. I quickly scan the message, and if it is something I can deal with quickly, I will. If it takes longer, I mark it as ‘unread’ again and leave it until I have time. If I’m doing deep work, then I would be disciplined not to get interrupted by the pings. If I’m in a meeting or between meetings, and doing activities that can be interrupted easily, I’ll read the message. Try to minimise traffic that is just chat – I know this is hard because we also need to use chat channels for socialising and team building in virtual teams, but if you can keep notifications down by not generating any traffic that isn’t needed, that’s a start.

Managing Multiple Projects (2nd edition) is published by Kogan Page.