The 12 Week Year for Writers

CHAPTER 11HOW TO MANAGE MULTIPLE WRITING PROJECTS

As I outlined in Chapter 4, one of the most fundamental purposes of your 12 Week Plan is to help you focus on the most important things that are going to make the biggest difference in your writing. By now everyone should be aware of the dangers of trying to do too many things at once. Study after study shows that trying to engage in work that requires deep and extended concentration while also attending to email, the phone, or social media is a recipe for disastrous results.¹

Handling multiple projects at once is also dangerous to your productivity. Certainly, there are a few examples of people famous for their ability to excel in multiple fields simultaneously. Elon Musk, for example, somehow manages to run Tesla, currently the world's most valuable car company, while also running SpaceX, a leading private space transportation company, as well as the Boring Company, focused on developing high-speed underground train travel. Examples like Elon Musk, however, are relatively few and far between. His success undoubtedly reflects a disciplined approach to planning and time management, but his ability to split his attention in so many directions is not something most people could replicate.

Sadly, for the rest of us research shows that having too many goals is a great strategy for failing to reach any of them. Focusing on a single goal, on the other hand, allows you to bring your full energy and brainpower to completing the tactics ...