One thing at a time
You may be able to do anything, but you can't do everything
How many different projects do you have on the go? Not just writing, but everything. I'm currently working on Unhack Your Brain, three novels, six short stories, two audiobooks, two audio dramas, four model aircraft, a large model of Nosferatu, a Tibetan-style mandala, some Islamic-style lattice work designs, the plans for next year’s vegetable garden, a set of Tarot cards, and...
Actually, I'm not.
I would like to be working on all of these. These are all ideas for things I could be working on. In most cases, I’ve even started them. But I'm not actually working on them.
Admitting that to myself was hard. I've always liked to think of myself as an insanely creative person, so I have this self-image of being a person with dozens of different projects happening all at once. For years I would constantly dart between them, doing a little of this and a little of that, always working, always creating, always busy - and never finishing anything.
I thought of myself as an ideas man. I measured my creativity by how many new ideas I could come up with. The larger my stack of unfinished projects, the more creative I must be. But that's not creating: it's just imagining.
This year I've been doing my best to focus on finishing projects. And it's worked. I've got books out there on Amazon and they're selling. Unhack Your Brain is up and running. I built my Web site. I’ve been publishing regularly on this blog, and I’ve kept up with a quarterly newsletter schedule. It’s not much, but it’s more than I’ve managed to achieve creatively in years.
The only way I've been able to do this is by being ruthlessly disciplined and focused. At any one time I have just one major project that takes up most of my energy. I allow myself one other background project that I can work on from time to time. And I have one little project that sits in reserve which I can turn my mind to when I need a break - typically something I can complete from start to finish in two or three days, such as a model, a drawing, or a short story.
Everything else can just wait. I'm not going to look at them until I’ve finished one of the projects I'm currently working on. If I have a new idea, it just gets stacked for later.
I'm sure many of you would find this approach far too constricting and formalized, but it works for me. And I admit, I don't stick to this rigidly. I'm quite happy to switch projects if the mood takes me. But I'm turning it into a conscious decision: it's as much about deciding to put something aside as deciding to work on something else. If I decide to work on this story, then by definition, I’m making the choice not to work on that one.
For me, there are two really satisfying elements to this. I don't waste time deciding what to work on. I've only got three choices, not 12 or 20 or how many it is. It’s simple psychology: the more choices you have, the harder it is to make a decision. By removing most of the options in advance, the decisions become a lot quicker and easier.
And most importantly, I'm always focused on getting things done. It's a great feeling when you can finally take a project off the list because it's complete. What matters to me now is not how many projects I've started, but how many I’ve finished.
As a creator, there's no better feeling than looking at something and saying “I made that.”