The Art of Slow-Motion Multitasking: How to Manage Multiple Projects Without Losing Your Mind
Not too long ago, I made the bold claim that multitasking was great—and that everyone who said otherwise was simply wrong. That argument didn’t age well. Truth is, they were mostly right, and I was mostly… not. But while I was off the mark in how I framed the concept, the deeper idea still holds some truth. I just needed a better analogy—and I finally found one.
Let’s start with this: classic multitasking doesn’t work. Flipping between emails, texts, spreadsheets, and a half-written blog post every few minutes doesn’t make you more efficient. It actually drains your mental energy and leaves you feeling frazzled, not productive. The science backs this up: every time you switch tasks, your brain pays a cost in focus and time. It’s a lose-lose situation.
But managing multiple projects? That’s a different story entirely. Done right, it can be a powerful way to stay creative, energized, and consistently moving forward.
Crop Rotation for the Mind
Enter the analogy I’ve come to love: crop rotation. It’s not mine—it comes from philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and was recently re-popularized by author Tim Harford. The idea is simple: instead of planting the same crop in the same soil until it’s depleted, farmers rotate crops to keep the land fertile.
Applied to work, this means rotating between different projects—not all at once, but in a thoughtful, intentional rhythm. Tim calls it “slow-motion multitasking,” and it’s a method many highly successful people use without necessarily labeling it as such.
Here’s how it works: you focus deeply on one task, then set it aside and turn your attention to something else. You’re not jumping from tab to tab; you’re working in seasons, letting one idea rest while another blooms. And when you return, you’re often recharged, refreshed, and ready to dive back in with new perspective.
Why It Works
What makes this method so effective is that different projects draw on different kinds of energy. Writing a book, recording a podcast, developing a game, organizing an event—they all require different mental muscles. Rotating between them prevents burnout and allows you to stay productive even when one area hits a wall.
The key is recognizing when you’re stuck—not in a way that signals failure, but as a cue to shift gears. As Harford puts it, “When you’re stuck on something, you just do something else and don’t get stressed about it because you’ve got something else productive to do.”
What It Looks Like in Practice
Here’s a peek into how this plays out in my own life:
- Podcasting: I record all episodes for my show Side Hustle School two days a week. It runs daily, but batching the recordings frees me up mentally and logistically the rest of the week. We’ve passed 1,900 episodes—and heading toward 2,000.
- Writing: I aim to write 1,000 words a day. While I once kept this habit without fail, life got in the way, and I had to rediscover it during the pandemic. It’s now a pillar of my daily rhythm.
- Books: I usually write one book at a time, but I always have others in the idea phase—outlines, notes, concepts simmering in the background. For example, The Money Tree was a departure from my usual nonfiction style, and I loved experimenting with fiction elements.
- Other Projects: Right now, I’m exploring DeFi (decentralized finance) and testing a blockchain-based game that’s actually fun and potentially profitable. I’m also organizing a long-awaited summer gathering for readers and friends—postponed for two years due to the pandemic.
It may sound like a lot (and sometimes it is), but by rotating through projects with intention, I maintain momentum without letting one thing consume all my creative energy.
How to Avoid the Multitasking Trap
Let’s be clear: crop rotation is not an excuse to scatter your focus. The danger is that without structure, you can fall right back into classic multitasking—where nothing gets done and everything feels urgent.
To prevent that, I rely on two simple tools:
1. The Daily Plan
Every morning, I jot down a basic plan. It includes any scheduled commitments, my fitness goal for the day, and—most importantly—my three most important tasks. Not ten tasks. Three. Limiting my focus to three keeps the day manageable and helps me stay grounded.
2. Time Blocks with Full Focus
This is where techniques like the Pomodoro method come in. I use a physical tool called Timeular, a cube with different sides for each project. I flip it over to signal what I’m working on, and stay locked in until my session ends—usually 25 to 50 minutes. Then, I take a break, reassess, and decide what’s next.
You don’t need any fancy gear to do this. A timer on your phone or a kitchen clock works just fine. What matters is giving each task your full attention for a fixed period. When that block is done, you can switch to something else—but only then.
The Big Idea
Slow-motion multitasking, crop rotation—whatever you call it—isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing things better. It recognizes that you’re a complex person with diverse interests, and it gives your brain space to rest, recover, and reconnect with ideas that matter.
So the next time you feel stuck, don’t force it. Don’t scroll endlessly or panic over lost momentum. Just rotate. Pick up a different project, apply your energy there, and come back later. You’ll be surprised how much more you can accomplish when you stop trying to do it all at once—and start moving in rhythm with your own creative cycles.
Multitasking? No thanks. But slow-motion multitasking? That’s a method worth mastering.
