Pecking

On Tackling Multiple Projects at Once

I was trying recently to remember the last time I worked on a single project. I’m pretty sure it had to be 2001, right after I graduated and went all headfirst-plunge on writing. That first manuscript—that had to be it. Because as soon as the submission process for that book started, I was juggling projects—I was writing a new book while waiting to hear back about the first. And once I started to get some editorial feedback, I was then juggling a revision of the first while still drafting the second book…then, after drafting and revising the first book, I was juggling resubmitting the first, submitting the second, and drafting a third…

You get the idea. It didn’t take long for my tiny little quaint little snowball to feel fairly, well—

—and somewhat overwhelming.

Especially once I sold a book and added social media to the mix.

I’ve tried all sorts of different approaches to juggling multiple jobs over the years, searching for a process that fit me and my working style the best. Never was this more important than this year, when I was taking several courses and expanding into commercial illustration and editing in addition to keeping up with my full-time writing.

The only way I’ve found to get through it?

Pecking.

A little here and there adds up in a serious way. And I keep fairly loose schedules. I know which deadline is going to hit me first, but I don’t completely stop doing everything else. Sure, I focus primarily on the most important job at hand, but in those moments in-between, I’m drafting new work on my phone while sitting in the car or waiting in line, or sketching out a new pattern collection in my pocket sketchbook, or listening to a webinar while doing all those mind-numbing household chores that make you feel like digging your own eyes out (washing dishes, laundry, cooking).

I just find that if I’m making progress on everything, I feel far less overwhelmed. And I really do think I make better progress than I would if I tried to finish one project completely before moving to the next. An added benefit is that I also don’t feel as though I’m wearing myself out doing the exact same work for eight-plus hours a day.

Do all the different lines of thought become distracting at a certain point? Doesn’t it go against the idea of deep work—especially for writing?

I’d argue that it doesn’t—because of the type of think-time I feel writing actually requires.