Julia P., Lead AI Language Project Leader Local Sales Unit
It’s 10:00 a.m. I’m nearing a project deadline when an urgent message pops up: “The client is currently experiencing payment issues on our platform.”
As lead for two teams, this kind of thing happens about every two weeks. On one side, I’m directing our digital developer team in the Philippines, comprising back-end and front-end developers plus a UI/UX designer. On the other side, I’m managing our International Project Management (IPM) team in Korea time with three junior project managers (PMs) handling localization projects for our HQ.
Every day, I am literally living in two calendars: PH time for the Digital team and KR time for the IPM team. If I lean too hard into the Digital team, I end up neglecting my localization projects, and delays are not an option. If I lean too hard into the IPM team, I slow down production and block technical work.
This article is about how I’m trying to balance both with the main problem of having two sets of urgent priorities fighting for the same brain and the same hours.
My Role and Context
I neither started in tech nor had any background in it. I began as a junior PM in the Translation team of our PH branch. After several years, I was promoted to senior and then eventually became team leader for junior PMs. My world was all about deadlines, handoffs, and making sure every step of the translation workflow was clear.
Then, everything changed. Our IPM team was dissolved. I was transferred there to reform it without proper handover and real onboarding, just manuals left by the previous team. I had to learn the ropes alone and build structure as I went. Now, I’m technically a Lead International Project Manager for our HQ based in South Korea. Then, the Digital team’s previous team lead resigned. I stepped in, partly because there was a need, and partly because I wanted to understand the digital world better: the tools, platforms, and technology behind the services we offer.
So now, I lead:
In a typical week, I aim for a 50/50 split: half of my time for the Digital team, half for the IPM team.
One Main Solution: Give Everything a Clear Structure
What saved me wasn’t a fancy tool, but a simple idea: things and ideas need structure. Without it, they don’t happen, and there’s no direction. So, I made clear structures that both worlds, tech and translation, had to live inside.
1. One week, two “lanes”
Instead of reacting all day, I split my week into two mental lanes:
2. Fixed check-in rhythm
To keep system alignment between both sides, I rely on simple check-ins:
3. A rule for urgencies
Not everything can be “top priority,” so I follow two things:
Structure Is the Real Balance
Leading a developer team and an IPM team at the same time will probably never feel “easy.” But with a clear structure for my time and my decisions, it’s become manageable.
For me, the lesson is that without structure, the loudest problem always wins. With structure, the right problem wins.
If you’re juggling a few important tasks at the same time, try this one small step: pick fixed blocks for your tasks so that you can manage your time with the right pacing.
Project management isn’t always about work; it’s also about protecting your personal stuff, whether it be your chores, finances, hobbies, or extracurricular activities.
September 29, 2025
5 Things I Didn’t Know Until I Worked as a Project Manager at Lexcode
Cathlyn P., International Project Manager
Explore This Article
September 29, 2025
KabayanXpress, Qurious, eQQuip Me: My Developer Mindset in Every System I Build
Michael B., Back-End Developer
Explore This Article
September 29, 2025
More Than Documents: What OFWs Really Need from a Translation Service
Ian C., Project ManagerI.
Explore This Article
