Interestingly enough people think that by stopping to think about their mental capacity they are in some way limiting their potential. While I understand this natural reservation, the problem with this thinking is that the capacity is real whether or not one is consciously aware of it or not.
The way that I look at consciously being aware of my project capacity is that it allows me to understand my nature capacity for mental activity, thus freeing and focusing myself on the few projects that I take on that are meaningful and have a big personal impact (think capitalism).
Over and over again I see individuals in Silicon Valley taking on many projects and getting "advisory" shares in 10 or more companies. The problem with this is two fold. 1) They don't really have any effect on the company 2) They end up owning 5% together where they could have focused their energy significantly on 2 or 3 projects and owned 10-20% on each project (if they are indeed very talented).
One thing that I am highly cautious of is taking on responsibilities for an indefinite time in which I play a minor role. This is the ultimate way to drain your energy and block of a significant chunk of mental capacity. From a project management standpoint, I much rather go 100% for 3 months then go 20% for an indefinite amount of months. The 3 months leads to higher personal effectiveness as well as higher contribution to the firm.
What is the natural capacity for number of projects? Mainstream belief is that it is anywhere from 5-7 for the typical individual. My personal belief is that it is very difficult to manage more than 3 full time projects. I have also found that taking on 2 (and sometimes 3) projects makes me more effective in all 2-3 projects because it builds momentum.
Of course, in theory there are individuals who are natural geniuses that can take on many more projects. There is also a very innovative branch of psychology that allows individuals to increase the amount of mental capacity and project management.
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