Imagine that you have a full day of activities planned and the project manager you are working with gives you an important assignment. What steps do you take?

Remember to include the activities involved in adjusting expectations and setting new timelines if the new assignment causes a delay in your previously assigned work. Assistant project managers are expected to thrive in a fast-paced and agile environment, and this includes properly communicating changes to their teams, clients, and management as necessary.

"The first thing I would do is assess the new work to see what is involved and how long it will take. I would then determine the impact to my workload and anyone else involved. Next, I would look for an opportunity to meet all my current commitments while also working in the new assignment. In the event one or more of my prior tasks needed to shift, I would immediately communicate the change and establish a new timeline for completion. I would then jump into the new work while using any down time to make progress toward my previously assigned work."