The Great Juggling Writer: How to Manage Multiple Writing Projects

Transcript

As writers, we're so often masters of getting in over our heads. We get onto one too many ideas, and then we never settle down long enough to start working on any of them.

How can we stop the rush, stop feeling so frenetic, and maybe stop to smell some of the flowers along the way in our writing journey?

I'm Mary Brydon Kehoe, writer and owner of Elixir Editorial. Divine the secrets of the written word together with me in The Laboratory.

For those of you who may not know, I actually do have a project management background. And for this particular question, looking at it from that lens can be especially helpful. Specifically when you want to look at things like resource management. So your capacity to work in a measured time is one resource, let's say. And what I mean by that is really that focus, that discipline, I guess if you want to call it that, that you're able to kind of draw on during that time, during the time that you have.

And the time that you have is actually another resource, it's a separate resource. So your own capacity is one thing and then time is another. Writing drains a lot of creative and even executive energy that we have. Making decisions, we're constantly thinking of ways to solve problems. Whether or not we notice it is another thing, but it does draw on those resources.

And so what that means is that we need to replenish it and carefully weigh it against where else our energy is going. So for example, you know, you may have work, home, a social life, any number of things that you're doing in your free time, extracurriculars, different responsibilities that you might have. And ultimately, if we're not careful with it, overexpending that energy, or overspending it perhaps, is going to land us in a situation that will further burn us out.

That energy can become even more drained over time if we're, for example, managing multiple different projects, as many of us are wont to do. So being aware of that capacity as a limited resource is really the first step in, I'd say, kind of that taking charge of your whole project list—that first step that you want to take there—is really getting to know what that energy looks like, what that expenditure looks like in comparison to what you actually have to be able to devote to your writing craft.

I'd say the next thing to look at—really after that point, once you have a good baseline—is learning how to prioritize. So take a look at what gets you the most bang for your buck—is a good way of kind of framing it, I guess.

Maybe you're actually getting paid for something, for example. So if you have paid work, if you are submitting something and, let's say, maybe you have a publisher on the hook. That's very exciting, and of course, it's something that you want to kind of prioritize when it comes to your writing because those opportunities aren't necessarily replete out there. But when they do happen, we want to devote the most time to it.

So that kind of thing is really, probably your number one in terms of a writing practice. If it's your own writing practice, let's say, and maybe not a job. Or, maybe it is a job that you have, and you're a writer and you're looking to balance those types of tasks as well. If you're getting paid for that writing, if it's your normal day to day job, then of course, that stuff kind of comes first. And I say this because it's also sort of that form of self care. If you're going to get paid for your art, you might as well, you know, you want to devote yourself to that first and foremost.

The next to look at maybe is how relevant is the writing that you're actually putting forward right now? Is it writing that is particularly relevant to the time and to the place that you find yourself in? And what I mean by that is, really, are you looking to address a particular issue that you're passionate about that you are looking to resolve or solve with your writing? Social justice is kind of one of those things that comes to mind. Those things can be particularly time bound and time sensitive, especially if the conversation is currently going on. You don't want to take too, too much time to get your point across, usually, because if you miss that window, then people move on from the conversation, and your writing won't have necessarily the impact that you want it to have.

That might also be the same if you're writing a book and the themes are particularly relevant for today. The publication market, while it does have trends and longer term things that go on, can be quite fickle. So you want to make sure that you're timing yourself correctly, that you're giving yourself enough lead time to be able to produce a piece of writing that is relevant to today, for example.

And maybe you just can't rest until you tackle this one idea. Maybe it's something that you're passionate about that's been stuck in your brain for ages and it just won't let you rest otherwise. That's a completely valid thing to focus on as well. I'd put it at that level in the hierarchy as the third path to consider. But that's the question really is, what puts you off on the best path for tomorrow? Is it one of those three things? Maybe there's something else that you can think of that would cause you to prioritize something differently than any of those ones that I mentioned.

So once you've got your priority list, then you really want to hunker down and decide what actually has the most value for you. So the idea of picking one project at a time. It can be the most effectual for getting you where you want to quickly. In project management, there's this discussion being had about the myth of multitasking and the fact that we cannot always devote the same level of energy or the same type of energy, I would say, to different tasks at the same time. Every time we switch to a different task, it has a knock-on effect to anything else that we're doing. There's a task switching cost. And multitasking, even in the sort of traditional way that you would consider it, we're actually usually switching between two or more different things at the same time, rather than actually devoting ourselves to two things equally, we're bouncing back and forth between them and probably not doing a great job of either.

So this idea of pouring your passion into just one thing at a time, immersing yourself in it, and really getting a feel for it, may actually make it easier to work on over the days. So you know where you drop off, you know where you've left off. I mentioned, I think in a blog post at one point, that Ernest Hemingway had talked about leaving off in the middle of a place where he knew he was going to come back and revisit and know exactly where he was. He could only have done that probably if he was actually focusing on one single thing every single day, if you think about it. Because, if you're bouncing back and forth between two different pieces, let's say, you're not going to have that time to fully immerse yourself, to really understand what the problems are that are facing you in the writing, for example. Where you want to go with it and what is important about that particular scene, for example, if you're writing fiction.

I will say this is a very attractive idea. It's something that I've tried to stick with as much as possible in my own practice. But there's still a danger of burning yourself out here.

Even if you limit yourself to just one thing at a time, it's really dependent on how you work best, or what suits your kind of work. Sometimes you just have no choice but to find balance between multiple projects. For example, if you're working and your writing is part of your work, or it's part of your livelihood somehow, or maybe it's just how your brain works. Sometimes we actually fill up our creative wells when we work on different projects at the same time.

I know for those of us who are neurodivergent, that can tend to work better than if we were trying to force ourselves along one track at one time. We kind of need that freedom to actually move around and do different things. But I think that's the key, really, is that they're different.

So my advice there would be to try and diversify what you're actually working on, if you can. Do things that are not just writing. I know a lot of us who are writers, we have a lot of creative pursuits, so this would be a great time to kind of pick something up like that. Get into a groove with maybe, let's say, you're a painter. Maybe you want to paint or craft or something like that.

Or you could just try the usual techniques that we hear talked about a lot. Pomodoro is a really good one. That's when you sit down for 20 minutes and then you get up after the 20 minutes, you walk around for a little bit. It can be different times depending on what works better for you. But if you break up your writing with breaks, that makes sense.

Now that would be more specific to sitting down and writing one single project at a time. But it can kind of apply to the longer term, if you think about it. Maybe you're getting up to go fold laundry. Maybe you're switching between different types of writing projects. I think what's most important really to consider when you're doing something like that is that mental load, that energy that we talked about before. Because different kinds of writing, even, will also cost a different load. Maybe you find it a little bit heavier to work in one particular kind of genre. I know that this is particularly applicable to me because I have writing that I do for business, I have writing that I do for outreach and things like that. Or even if you consider emails writing, which they are, they're a different kind of brain activity or a different kind of energy that you're putting into it. It's a different kind of resource.

So it really comes back to that resource management question and making sure that you are taking into account how much energy you actually have left, how much time you have left, before you're jumping back into something else. Because I have all kinds of things to do, like emails, outreach, stuff like that that I've mentioned. But I also have my own creative writing. I have my own fiction that I'm writing as well. And that takes up its own kind of resource. Now, sitting down to actually write my own fiction is a little bit more restorative maybe than writing an email, but it kind of depends. It's one of those things where your mileage may vary a little bit.

It's something that you're going to need to play around with as an individual and find what sort of systems work best for you and to consider playing around with them a little bit. I mean, obviously at the end of the day, you're trying to get work done, you're trying to accomplish something, but you want to take care of yourself along the way. So too many different kinds of focuses can be depleting, can get us more stuck than before, let's say. So I know that if I've had a long day of writing emails or correspondence or something like that, that startup costs can be greater for me when it comes to getting back into my own writing. And while it may be fueling me—my own writing and my own writing practice—it takes longer to get there. It's kind of like a big giant cost for task switching.

But besides all of this, sometimes when it comes to multiple different projects, you have to be really realistic to yourself, really kind to yourself, I should say. Occasionally pivoting or dropping a project comes up. It might be something that you're considering. And sometimes you have to give yourself that break. Sometimes you have to take a step back and let the creative well fill up a little bit more before you can start doing heavier work on it. And that's completely fine.

I think we get into a lot of hot water as writers when we bite off more than we can chew. Like I said, we're really good at it. We're masters of it. So equally, we have to have this really good awareness of, okay, am I doing too much at once? Am I—is there wiggle room for me to drop something? And how safe is it if I do drop that thing?

It comes back to prioritization, making sure that you're really in touch with the kinds of projects that you're doing and the importance that they have to you overall. Because sometimes you have to be really realistic. You have to be really, even ruthless, I would say, when it comes to what gets your time and attention. Those two resources that I talked about before, because they do deplete over time. And when we deplete them too extensively, they can be harder and harder to refill. They're finite resources. They're precious.

I think that determining when to drop something, while it is related to prioritization, can be a topic in and of itself. There's that question of what sparks that joy in you? What are you—what are you actually passionate about? What is the thing that's going to, like I say, set you on that right path for tomorrow? But for now, what I would say is pay attention to how it actually feels doing the work. Do you feel depleted? Is it like pulling teeth to get anywhere with it? Because that itself can become quite difficult over time to maintain. If we're not excited about what we're doing, if we don't have that sort of spark behind us, then especially if it's a writing project that you are deciding to take on, it can be worthwhile to step back from it.

The other thing, as I say, is can you actually realistically drop this project? And if so, would it hurt anything to do so? It can feel like a big rush when a different opportunity comes up from what we've been working on. Especially if it's really fun or interesting, we have a tendency to want to jump in both feet, I think, or a lot of us do.

And ultimately, as I say, that cost of task switching comes up. It's a calculation that is important to kind of pause and make that calculation right at that particular moment because a lot of the time we say yes without even thinking about it. It warrants us developing it as a habit so that instead of saying yes to everything as it comes up, we're actually taking a moment and taking a breather and saying, hey, okay, let me check in with myself. What energy do I have to devote to this? Do I already have a full plate? If you're looking at four to five different projects on the go, realistically, what time are you going to have to be able to fit this one in, especially if you're already having a difficult time accomplishing all of those.

Because sometimes that selection happens no matter what. If we're not conscious of making the choice, sometimes we kind of lead into that choice without realizing it. It might just be our body's way of naturally saying you can't do everything at the same time. You can't do all the things on the list. Realistically, we only have so many hours in a day to actually get everything done. So maybe you have four to five things that you've signed up for that are kind of weighing on your brain. But actually, in effect, you have a lot less capacity for those things. And then your list ends up looking like maybe closer to one to two items.

I always encourage people to be realistically optimistic. You want to maintain that positivity when you're approaching, especially when you're approaching different projects. It's an amazing feeling to be motivated to try something new. But if your goal is to actually finish a project, that's where it gets really tough. So in that hierarchy, in that prioritization list that you have, what can realistically be bumped? Because those things are most likely going to be bumped anyway.

And consider your own needs in that calculation as well. Do you need to get out? Do you need to actually get out of the house and see people and refuel yourself that way? Do you need to be social? Do you need to take care of different responsibilities, for example?

Now the question may come up, does the project actually fuel your passion? And that's a need. That's something that is a great criteria to start with, especially if you are wanting to be a writer, and especially if you have any choice in the matter. Because like I say, not everybody has that choice. Sometimes you're doing things to put food on the table, to earn a paycheck, to earn a living. By definition, those things are most likely going to be the important ones for you. They're not the only important ones, but they're going to be pretty high up in that list of important things.

So if I can kind of come back to that question that I had before, how to stop the rush, how to stop feeling frenetic, is to kind of force yourself to pause and take things into consideration. People with a meditation habit or meditation practice might already be doing something like this. And I think writing has such a—an interesting relationship to meditation that it makes sense to kind of take that pause, take that breath, and really check in with yourself what you can do and what's important to you. Because a lot of the time, the unfortunate thing is we can't get everything done in the amount of time that we would ideally like to.

If you slow down, if you take a minute to see what's actually important on your plate and to kind of juggle things a little bit more intentionally, you might find that you're able to add different juggling balls over time to add different projects. But the other great thing about this situation rather than actually juggling is that there's no pressure really, unless you're putting pressure on yourself or unless there are external factors.

But, if you're looking at just purely writing projects, and especially from a lens of you choosing the projects that you're working on, it's a great privilege to be in that situation because it allows you to kind of take that breath and really centre yourself before you go on to something else that may not necessarily need your time right at the moment. Sometimes things can feel especially urgent when those ideas are bubbling over and we just have to write them down. I would say keep a scrap of paper around and let the ideas come in, let them leave on their own.

There's a certain amount of grit that you have to have in order to carry forward with a particular project. There are a lot of people out there who want to write a novel who haven't because maybe they get doing other things in their life, but maybe they also have a bunch of different projects on the go. Those in and of themselves can become distractions.

One kind of final piece that I'll let you consider for this one is that the other thing is projects actually have a little bit more give, maybe, than—than you might think. It's actually recommended, for example, if you are editing something, if you're looking to start editing a work, that you actually put it away first. You want to create that time and that distance between you and the work so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes. Kind of mimicking if someone else was to look at it. And in that time, maybe it's an opportunity for you to start working on something else that you're also excited about. Because you want to do that due diligence and you want to return to those things that are important that you wrote down before. Just maybe a little bit more thoughtfully.

So at the end of the day, you don't have to be a complete whiz at managing your own projects. I mean, it helps to know somebody maybe who is able to do that for you or is able to check in with you on those things—to lean on your community, but really that golden rule there is to make sure that you're not overcommitting yourself. Because we want to say yes to people a lot of the time. One of those people is actually us at the end of the day.

Make sure you're being kind to yourself.

With that, I want to thank you for listening to today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

If you have any questions on the topic discussed, or if you'd like to suggest a future topic, please don't hesitate to reach out. Contact me through elixireditorial.com or find me on Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkedIn @elixireditorial.

Intro and outro modified from “Danse Macabre” by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com and licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License.

See you next time in The Laboratory.

Mary Kehoe provides structural, stylistic and copy editing services for a variety of written works through her agency, Elixir Editorial. From time to time she dabbles in her own writing projects which tend toward the speculative genre.

She is a member of both Editors Canada and the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), as well as a founding member and former chair of the Toronto Arts & Letters Club writing group. A longtime lover of the English language, Mary is passionate about supporting writers on the journey to inspire the world.