How to Reach Your Goals Using Multi-Tasking

A Different Way to Multi-Task that Increases Productivity and Creativity

Published in

The Startup

7 min readNov 20, 2019

We’ve all heard the research that says multi-tasking is a lie. When you try to do everything, everything ends up suffering. But the pace of our world today makes it feel like you’re falling behind if you only focus on one thing. How do we meet the needs of the ever more fast-paced and interconnected world without sacrificing quality?

Is it possible to harness the seductive power of multi-tasking for good?

I believe multi-tasking can get more done — and done well — but not in the way you would think. There’s a different way to multi-task. One that keeps you productive on several different projects at once. And as an added bonus, it also gives your brain a creativity boost. Let me explain how.

Burnout: The Nemesis of Single-Minded Focus

One of the biggest problems we face in our attempt to force ourselves to focus on only one idea is burnout. Faced with the same problem day after day without any progress, our brains will eventually rebel. That rebellion might mean you’re all tapped out of new ways to approach the same problem. Or it could look like boredom and disconnection from the very idea that once gave you such joy and passion.

One of the tenets of this new way to multi-task helps solve the burnout problem. If you subscribe to the idea that our brains are similar to computers, think about it like this: what’s the first thing every IT worker asks someone with a computer problem?

“Have you turned it off and back on again?”

Even our electronics eventually need to stop and reset. We are no different. Forcing yourself to work beyond productivity won’t magically cause a brilliant new idea to surface; it’ll just leave you frustrated and exhausted. Take a break.

Circular Multi-Tasking

If you give a brain a problem, it’ll want to solve it. Which is great if you’re only ever faced with one problem at a time. The issue comes when your brain gets overloaded by lots of problems, big and small.

A perfect example of the type of multi-tasking that does more harm than good comes from a children’s book. Named after the circle stories read aloud in schools all over the United States, I call it circular multitasking.

Screenshot of free activity by Regina Davis

The most well-known example of a circle story is Laura Numeroff’s “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.” Instead of quoting from it, I’ve created my own version that every writer can identify with:

If you give a writer an idea for a story, they’ll want to start writing. They’ll turn on their computer, open up a Google Doc, and start typing. As the story begins to take shape, they’ll remember the perfect example to illustrate it. In order to get the details correct, they’ll open a new tab and google the example they have in mind. As they look for the details of their example, they’ll run across a new example that relates to their story. Curious to learn more, the writer will open another new tab. Soon, they’re twelve tabs into research without any progress on the original story. All the new research will give the writer more questions. And chances are, if they have a bunch of questions, they’ll come up with a new idea for a story.

The structure of a circle story sends the main character on a wild goose chase only to end up at the same place where s/he started. Trying to do too many things at once usually ends up leaving a trail of half completed ideas.

Too often, our multitasking is circular and not productive. It makes perfect sense that experts caution us against going down this road. The science is clear — our brains can only attend to one thing at a time. (1)

But…what if there was a way to multi-task that didn’t involve flitting from one idea to another or trying to do several things simultaneously? What if there was a way to multitask AND achieve all our goals?

Albert Einstein, Multi-Tasker Extraordinaire

In the year 1902, after the rejection of his thesis on molecular forces in gases, Einstein was hired to work at a patent office. His job was to look over applications for patents and decide a. if it was a new idea, and b. if it could actually work. As he became more efficient, Einstein began to have more time in his day. He would use this time to daydream and write down his ideas and calculations.

Almost two years after Einstein began working at the patent office, his wife gave birth to their son. His work at the patent office likely ramped up at the same time. The electrical industry was booming and as the only electrical engineer at the patent office, Einstein had more than enough work.

Right in the middle of this frantic time, Einstein hit his intellectual stride. In 1905, he wrote and submitted six papers — three within 15 weeks of one another. (2)

Four of his papers were published. The first paper, on the photoelectric effect, would lead to Einstein earning the Nobel Prize in Physics. The second paper on Brownian Motion led to the creation of statistical physics. His work on special relativity in the third paper was arguably the most groundbreaking. And the fourth paper gathered the information from the previous three to form a little equation we know as E=mc^2. (3)

How did he do it all?

Slow Motion Multi-Tasking

In his 2019 TED talk, Tim Harford coined a term to describe this type of productivity: slow motion multi-tasking. He defines it as “having multiple projects on the go at the same time [where] you move backwards and forwards between topics as the mood takes you, or as the situation demands.” (4)

This type of multi-tasking isn’t circular — there’s no rush to do everything right now. The ‘slow motion’ part recognizes that no matter how many different projects you have going on, in order to be productive, you can only focus on one at a time. (1,4)

Like many other scientists before him, Harford advises that if you get stymied in the middle of a project, you should put it down. When you have more than one ongoing project, pausing the one that’s stuck doesn’t leave you stranded. You simply pivot to a different project.

Slow motion multi-tasking lets you juggle several different projects while maintaining quality and avoiding burnout.

An Important Side Effect of Slow Motion Multi-Tasking

In the same TED talk, Harford tells about a decades-long study of the work habits of leading scientists. A pattern emerged: the top scientists kept changing their focus. In fact, in their first 100 papers, the “most enduringly creative scientists” switched subjects 43 times. Harford remarks,

“Seems that the secret to creativity is multi-tasking in slow motion.”

By giving your brain a breather, you open yourself up to a more creative approach the next time you tackle the problem. More and more scientists believe that the connections we make between unrelated memories are the key to creativity. If you only ever work on one problem, your thoughts will start to follow similar paths. All your memories will focus on working that one problem. Without a variety of experiences to draw from, you narrow your ability to think creatively.

During Einstein’s “miracle year,” he was juggling full-time work and a new child in addition to his writing. I believe the chaos of that time period actually helped him solve many of the ideas he’d been nurturing.

With so many different irons in the fire, he was able to make connections he may not have been able to make before his son was born, or before he saw various patent applications, or even before reading and reviewing other scientist’s papers.

Each new facet of his life helped feed the connections his brain was making.

By allowing yourself to pivot to different projects and ideas, you’re changing the path of your thoughts. Focusing on a new project or idea creates new neuron pathways and memories. The larger the wealth of memories you have to draw from, the more likely you are to make a random connection that creatively solves the problem from your first project.

Slow motion multi-tasking requires focus. It also requires the presence of mind to recognize when you’ve hit a wall and can go no further. If you feel stuck, take a break: get a snack, take a walk. When you return to the original task, if you’re still stuck, stop trying to force it and pivot to a different project. Slow motion multi-tasking gives you a blueprint for how to productively — and creatively — move forward.

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