Multi-tasking, anyone?

I used to think I was a good multi-tasker. As a young executive, I kept many projects going at once, managing clients and staff members and a schedule that was often too packed for the pages of my Filofax. This was the pre-Blackberry age. Also pre-cell phone, if you can imagine.

I used to be able to hide out in Saks Fifth Avenue or MOMA for an afternoon if the pressure got too intense, trying on Ferragamos or cruising Picassos while clients waited for my calls. Those were the days. A pile of pink message slips greeted me on my return from playing hooky on company time. Paychecks came weekly, like the dependable tick-tock of my Swiss watch. Promotions, too, in spite of the occasional missed afternoon.

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