What Is Slow-Motion Multitasking and Why You Need It

Do you ever find that your inbox is overflowing with emails, you have ten different tabs open on your browser, and you're frantically trying to manage grocery shopping and an upcoming work deadline?

Such experiences are all too common. But they never seem to get easier to deal with over time.

If you've heard about time management and project management techniques like the Pomodoro technique, Time Blocking, and David Allen's Getting Things Done, but think they aren't for you - then you should consider slow-motion multitasking.

Let's explore what slow-motion multitasking is and whether it's right for you.

What is Slow-Motion Multitasking

Slow-motion multitasking is a process where you move back and forth between projects based on how you feel at the moment. The term was coined by Tim Harford but the concept has been around for a while.

Unlike other commonly-touted productivity tips, you don't have to sit down and focus on any one goal until it's done. And you certainly don't have to use productivity tools like calendars, spreadsheets, and the plethora of productivity software out there.

There's no need to draw up schedules, painstakingly create milestones, set dates and times for doing specific tasks, and so on.

It's enough for you to have a major goal and to create smaller objectives for you to meet. And then, to move back and forth between projects based on your mood.

Who needs slow-motion multitasking?

Generally speaking, this type of task achievement technique is great for creative people. You could be an entrepreneur, a content and blog writer, a painter, an architect, or a scientist.

If you're someone who feels bound and frustrated by deadlines and schedules, then slow-motion multitasking will be for you.

This doesn't mean, however, that people who follow this technique never get anything done. Rather, this approach to work removes the mental strain created by our self-imposed rules. Deadlines, milestones, and other common rules can actually increase stress and keep you from working.

But when you make your moods and feelings your guiding points, you'll find yourself naturally and enthusiastically doing more.

How to carry out Slow-Motion multitasking

Today, multitasking gets a bad rap. And in many cases, it's justified. For example, trying to talk to a friend while crafting an email is a recipe for disaster.

But multitasking isn't inherently a bad thing. In fact, for many people, it's the only way to work.

Focusing on a single subject or job can be draining when you try to do this for a long time. You get bored and tired and start to procrastinate.

In fact, we have a tendency to naturally multitask, except we look at it as a bad thing and believe that we're unfocused and wasting time.

Ready to apply slow-motion multitasking? Here's how to do it:

• Store your ideas: One of the worries creative people face is the prospect of forgetting great ideas. If you want to work on multiple projects and give them the attention they need, start storing your thoughts, journals, books, and other material either physically or digitally. Create folders and stock cardboard boxes with ideas for different projects.
• Write down everything: Another way to manage your goals and ideas is to write down or journal what you think and what you've discovered. You can go over this material to help you along with your work later.
• Learn everything: The key to creativity and multi-tasking is to learn as much as you can about everything you can possibly cover. As a business owner, it won't be enough for you to build a product. You also need to know marketing and even about other cultures if you're selling globally. Likewise, as a writer, you can benefit from reading about history, psychology, and virtually any random topic.
• Dive in: Feel comfortable to dive in and out of different projects as you feel like it. You will need to be distraction-free as much as possible. Even though you don't have to focus on one thing all the time, it doesn't mean that you should pull up your mobile phone and browse social media. Start working on a project until you're tired and then move to the next one

Conclusion

Slow-motion multitasking is about working on multiple projects simultaneously. But doing so mindfully and deliberately.

The most creative people in the world, including Einstein and Darwin, frequently moved from subject to subject and idea to idea.

You don't have to work on one thing only to do your work well. Being creative is about creating connections between disparate information and ideas. And slow-motion multitasking enables this.

Start applying what you've learned about slow-motion multitasking today. And you might find yourself doing more and enjoying it too.