A person’s capacity to manage a lot of tasks and activities is shaped by genetics and early experience, says Amit Sood, a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn. Some people inherit a tendency to be more reactive to stress and overload. Those who receive plenty of early nurturing and warmth, and who experience just enough early adversity to instill resilience but not too much, are often better able to cope, says Dr. Sood, author of “The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living.”
Personality matters, too. Altruism is a trait that helps people find meaning in their tasks and activities, enabling them to do more without harmful effects, Dr. Sood says. By contrast, people with neuroticism, who are more prone to experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety or anger, tend to have more strain when managing multiple roles, says a 2012 study in the Journal of Vocational Behavior.