Received Opinion informs us that We Must Do Only One Thing At A Time.
Balderdash!
Here’s what I do when faced with 4 or 5 or 6 things and I cannot decide which to do.
Let me explain…
When I have a collection of tasks of roughly equal priority, and I’m having trouble making a decision, I get every one of them ready to go. I lay out the papers on the desk, I fire up the web pages, I get everyone of them ready to go. Well, actually… the very first thing I do is put on some music… right now I’m listening to Jay Z’s Unplugged.
Next, I start on one until I get bored or feel stymied. Then I move to the following. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Typically, I end up making a little progress on everything… progress which will pay me back in the future by making that task incrementally easier to finish.
Here’s the real benefit to this approach: At some point, I find inspiration and knock one of the tasks totally out of the park. Not just finish it, but finish it with extreme inspiration!
I agree that it might be more effective for me to instantly decide which task to do and knock it out… then tackle the next task. I totally agree. No argument at all. But I know myself. When I’m the mood where decisions are difficult, when the ADD is running strong, this technique guarantees I will get at least one thing finished, and several others moved forward.
Remember always…
