There is circus act in which a person starts a plate spinning on a stick. Then on the table next to it, he starts another plate spinning. And then another and another until the person has dozens of plates all spinning on sticks at the same time. Every so often, the person has to go back to the original plate and spin it some more as it loses momentum and starts to wobble before crashing to the ground. In order to keep all the plates spinning, the person must race back and forth amongst the plates, adding some velocity as each plate, in its turn, begins to slow down. The Guiness World Record for plate spinning was achieved in 1996 with 108 plates spinning simultaneously. Anyone who has ever watched plate spinning feels the anxiety build as plates on the opposite ends look like they are about to teeter off their sticks, but the plate spinner races back and forth just in time to give each another spin.

Even those who have never seen the plate spinning act can probably relate to it. For most people, life is a lot like a plate spinning act thanks to today’s fast-paced world. There is a constant pressure to race back and forth between tasks, responsibilities and chores to keep all the plates spinning. Work. Chores. Honey-do lists. Errands. Family demands. Children’s activities. Doctor visits. Dental checkups. Tax prep. With so much to do, there’s often a plate in the daily grind that is about to teeter off its stick and come crashing to the ground. We race to give that plate another spin just in time to keep it from falling. With so much to do, it is easy to lose track. Thanks to technology, though, there are increasingly better tools to help track and keep all our proverbial plates spinning…. especially at work. Continue reading →