Tag: management

I'm a project coordinator at a mid-size tech company, remote from a small apartment with a desk wedged between the radiator and a ficus. I report to a product manager, a marketing lead, and an engineering manager on different time zones. Requests hit me in bursts: a 7 a.m. ping for a launch doc, a noon handoff for a sprint board, then a 9 p.m. "quick tweak" that is never quick. I stay polite, take notes, and then stare at a to-do list that expands while my coffee cools. Last week two managers gave me overlapping deadlines on different campaigns, both marked urgent. I picked the one tied to a customer demo, then the other manager escalated because an email sequence slipped. No one was angry, but I felt the temperature rise. I ended up working late and still worried I chose the wrong thing. I have tried a shared spreadsheet and color-coding requests by team. It helped until priorities shifted midweek and the colors turned into confetti. I really want to ask for a single prioritized backlog or a weekly triage call, yet I don't want to sound unhelpful or territorial. I'm nervous about stepping on toes. How can I request clear priorities and a decision-maker without creating friction? If you have phrasing for proposing a cadence (for example, a 20-minute Monday sort) or asking for a tie-breaker when deadlines collide, I would appreciate it. Tips on protecting myself when everything is labeled urgent would also help.