Multiple projects make me more productive

The common belief is that sustained attention leads to great work, and that focusing on a single thing is the best way to achieve it.

I agree with the belief, but not the method.

When I work on a single project, there comes a time where I get bored. I abandon it, which triggers guilt and burnout, taking me out for months. I always thought I just had to find the project that would keep me going.

That project doesn't exist for me.

What keeps me going is a constant source of new problems. The fun part for me is figuring things out. Once it's done, I have no interest in maintenance.

I realized projects were a proxy for what I actually like: fresh problems. So instead of finding the perfect project, I found a way to keep any project fresh. I work on multiple projects at the same time. When one gets boring, I switch to another. I come back fresh.

I stop at natural lulls. Use days as separators. Use completed tasks as signals to switch.

And I love it this way.

This last year I've applied this, and it's the best work of my career. All because I found my way to sustain attention.