Feed the printer. Wander around the house gathering up laundry. Get the washer started. Feed the printer. Get more coffee. Take out the trash. Feed the printer. Check freezer, see whether there’s anything that can be disguised as a nutritious dinner. Start grocery list. Feed the printer. Straighten kitchen and hurriedly wipe off countertops. Feed the printer. Move laundry from washer to dryer and start a new load. Feed the printer. Make two work-related telephone calls. Feed the printer. Wake children. Issue breakfast instructions. Feed the printer. Feed the dog. Feed the printer. Collapse into chair to catch breath. Feed the printer.

By the time the manuscript was done, I’d accomplished much, but I was scattered and confused and required a nap in early afternoon.

So, bosses everywhere, take it from us busy housespouses: “multi-tasking” may not be the best solution. It wears people out, and an exhausted, frazzled worker is an accident waiting to happen. You might be better off treating each employee less like a One-Man Band and more like a member of an orchestra. Let each play the lead sometimes, but let them rest sometimes, too.

Otherwise, you’ll find your employees dialing phones in their sleep. With their toes.

Buzzing Your Way to Success

Business loves buzzwords.

These days, new words buzz their way into the language every day. Even people who have no connection with dot-coms find themselves spewing the geekspeak of computers and corporations. Pretty soon, the buzzwords become so common that people apologize for using them.

For instance, every time lately I’ve heard someone use the term “thinking outside the box,” it’s been followed quickly by “forgive the expression.” People recognize that “thinking outside the box” has become hackneyed. I won’t be surprised if they’re soon looking for a way to crawl back into that box, wherever it is.