Somehow I manage
As a senior engineer, a lot of people come up to me and ask me at work, how are you able to manage multiple tasks at the same time?
Needless to say, they are flabbergasted when they come to find that apart from being a senior software engineer working at one of the most critical services in Azure, I am also aprofessional recording/travelling musican, I manage a coaching company for health and weight-loss transformations, I maintain an atheletic muscular physique and even do semi-professional bartending at times!
And yes, I operate in the same 24 hours as everyone, and still manage to get 8 hours of peaceful sleep.
How do I do it?
The answer is actually very simple. And it is what I have come to find in times of constant experimentation.
Below are my hard earned secrets!
I do not try to multitask
Not at all, not my thing. It wears me down.
I have found myself to be efficient focusing on one thing at a time, and I ruthlessly block time to finish that task. Due to this, not only I am able to save time, I am able to make less mistakes in that task, because I am fully present and not getting pulled by something else.
Context switching is going to wear you down
It is widely known that 20% of the things give you 80% of the benefit, even then we focus on taking large volume of tasks, rather than spending effort in becoming efficient at choosing what to pick! i.e. developing our information filter.
Our energy is going to be determined by how much you are context switching.
As a software engineer at a FAANG company, I am pulled in multiple different directions during the day. I still find all the time to pursue my passions after work, because I have so much energy left!
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Some of my stategies to reduce context switching
- Plan in advance what you are going to do, and meticulously figure out what exactly needs to be done to call it done.
- Plan in terms of weeks, rather than in day. Say you want to focus on Music, So music related stuff can be blocked on last 3 days of the week (or once you become efficient, you can move blocks whenever motivation strikes! :)) Prioritise!
- Once the plan is set, execute mindlessly like a machine and do not get swayed or let emotions come in between. The trick is to leave room for adhoc things which might come, and move your schedule up or down to schedule them based on priority.
Think in a continuum and avoid All-or-nothing mindset
I consider any progress in the right direction as good progress. Black and white thinking is extremely limiting, and you certainly do not need to be perfect!
The endevour of being perfect, however noble, will wear you down. You are definitely going to miss deadlines, tasks, actions etc. sometimes due to the chaotic pulls of life. A much better way is to take small steps in the direction which can take you to the direction of your goal!
Consistency over Perfection
Aim to be consistent, rather than perfect. There might be a small marginal delta in people who have been consistent + have been giving their best, however it is not marginally higher!
Especially if you are someone with different interests, for example I might be bartending or playing a gig after a day at work. I do not aim to be perfect in playing my character there, but I try to feel present in whatever I do and that has given me the best results over time.
Be realistic with your expectations
If you are unrealistic with picking up tasks and goals for yourself, not only will you soon end up burnt out, and distressed. But also undermotivated and might even quit on your goals.
Be patient, realistic and practical with tasks you are picking.
For example, you can use the goals-skills-practices-actions (GSPA) framework. Identifying and building key skills and practices that are required to improve or work towards an objective, and implementing those in daily actions
ref: picture from my PreciseNutrition course that I am taking
Action comes before motivation
It is the easiest thing to be swayed by the capricious arms of motiviation, however understand it is a fleeting emotion. Consistent actions leads to results, motivation does not!
