Use slow motion multitasking as a way to bring out all of your creative potential.
Let’s talk about harnessing that creative energy to bring those new ideas to life.
We usually have a ton of sparks of inspiration and then feel shame that we can’t focus and stick to one thing. But here’s another way to look at how to spread your attention around and when to focus it.
Slow motion multitasking is a way to have multiple projects running simultaneously.
Some may go further than others, but all interests are pursued.
We’ve been told that focusing on one thing at a time is the best way to work. That’s true, the mind can only focus on one thing, not two or three things at once. However, we can mindfully jump from one idea to another.
Especially, we get stuck on a project and need a mental untangling to see things in a new perspective.
I’ve been working this way for quite some time. I get stuck on trying to figure out a problem, I’ll do something like a quick sketch or write out a few ideas on a totally different topic. It’s always helped with any creative block.
It’s always been helpful to have several projects going on at once. Hopping over from one activity to another one allows the mind to stimulate different ideas and new energy. Or recharge and rest my mind.
Another way to look at this is moving with the energy that’s inspiring you at the moment.
Sometimes it's more about the movement and being in the creative flow of life. Everything we do in some sense or another is a form of creative expression.
There are many ideas about how to activate the momentum of creative energy.
By jumping back and forth you learn when to use the art of intention and focus on one single thing or multitask. It's not only one, it's doing both.
Tim Harford, an economist explored this further by looking at famous scientists and artists who did this quite frequently and very successfully.
Tim evaluated great thinkers like Einstein who wrote 4 very different prolific science papers in 1954 and found that creative scientists who were writing papers would switch topics 43 times in their first 100 papers before getting to the final idea.
Many highly creative people have many projects going on at the same time.
If this is you, you’re highly creative. When it’s time to focus, you can, but it’s not our natural tendency. You need a certain amount of mental stimulation to keep us sharp.
Kirkegaard coined this as “crop rotation” as you move around your ideas.
Athletes do this in the form of cross-training the body and research is showing that there’s benefits in cross-training your mind. Or for this example, cross-training your creativity.
By embracing the art of “slow motion multitasking” it takes on the idea that you’re not in a hurry at all and you are able to do all things.
Darwin worked on multiple projects for years. He studied earthworms for over four decades until he wrote his last book “The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits”, 44 years later.
That’s a long time to play with earthworms. I’m sure his colleagues and friends thought he was silly having an earthworm hobby. But he had a vision and he was dedicated to it.
Hermit mode with one single focus is a false dogma.
We are intricate little creative creatures with a myriad of ideas that need to be pursued. No idea is too small or too silly.
Some ideas may take years in the making to uncover and finish.
It doesn’t mean you give up on them because the results aren’t immediate. Instead, take those intensive mini breaks to work on other things that you love. And let it unfold naturally.
There’s no rush when you’re in the middle of doing all the things that inspire you.
When you decide who you’re going to be, you’ll be that creative person.
Now, get to work.
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Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
→ 1: Check out my YouTube Channel. I share more tips and insights offering ways to build more creative purpose in your life.
→ 2: Follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I share more ideas and strategies exploring ways to stay in a creative mindset in your life.
→ 3: Book a session to get your creative life going. I help those who identify as creative, gain control of their energy and maintain that creative flow.
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