How can I work more efficiently when writing multiple pieces of fiction at the same time?
I'm working on multiple pieces of fiction at the same time, and finding it very difficult. When writing one piece at a time, I'm able to devote my passing time to thinking about the one subject I care about. However, now that I have to work on three pieces at the same time, I'm having a hard time moving from one subject to the next.
I'm having a harder time than usual getting in 'Flow' as described by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. I think my inability to begin writing and continue to write drafts is caused by the number of different pieces I have to think about in my spare time.
For example, when I write one piece, I can usually spend twenty or thirty minutes prewriting and then write straight for five or six hours if I need to. Now that I have multiple pieces going at once, I am having a hard time entering the world of my fiction in less than a few hours.
How can I switch between the drafts of my writing in a shorter amount of time so that I can work more efficiently?
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In addition to Kate's and Lucy's excellent advice about working on one project per work period, I suggest making sure you're "cleansing your palate."
In between work sessions on Project A and Project B, spend some time not thinking about any of your projects. Do something non-writing-oriented which requires all your attention and your hands. Make a complicated meal. Paint a stencil on the wall. Plant seedlings. Rearrange the living room furniture. Go skiing.
Time away from your projects can be as helpful as time on your projects, because it changes your perspective and allows you to come back to something with a fresher outlook. It also gives you a break from the problem so you can recharge.
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In programming, it is well known that context-switching is a productivity killer. Developers arrange their workdays to minimize interruptions so they can focus on one task. Once "flow" is interrupted, it can take a significant amount of time to get back into it. One 5-minute interruption can blow an entire afternoon.
Human beings can't multitask. Study after study has shown that we make more mistakes and get less work done when we try. We may feel we are being productive, but we're not. Our brains just don't work that way, and no amount of Web-surfing will make you able to multitask more flexibly. It will just reduce your attention span.
So you can't literally work on multiple projects at once. But you can still have multiple projects in progress at once, and make steady progress on all of them -- you just have to make sure the amount of work you can get done in each time slice is not overshadowed by the time it takes you to switch back into the context of the project.
If it takes you "a few hours" to get back into each project, in other words, obviously you are not well-served by switching every day. Try switching once a week instead.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4237. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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