Hello World | How to do many things at once and not burn out

Also read: 1 in 3 Indian professionals burnt out, stressed due to remote work

There are four other ideas that have helped me. First is being deliberate about my information diet. Which means I try to seek out high-quality content that is aligned to my work or that I think might give me an insight into the state of an industry. I skip a lot of “breaking news” and wait for things to settle down so I can spend time reading more informed takes on what transpired. When a problem is thrown at you, you almost never have to start from scratch. 

Second, I like to identify and meet people who have a great vantage. This is a habit I picked up from my years as a journalist. Say, there’s a whole lot of action happening in the world of digital art. The best way to have a top-level understanding of the space is to spend time with a practitioner and understand their process, tools and trends. This helps save time and also establishes a relationship that you can tap into when you need a more nuanced understanding of the space. 

Third is multitasking. We’ve been told that multitasking is a bad idea. Last year, I spoke to behavioural design expert Nir Eyal who changed my views on this. The idea here is called multi channel multi tasking. That is, if you’re driving your car, you can listen to music or a podcast. If you’re out for a walk, you can again listen to a show that you like. If you need some ‘think time,’ can you combine it with another activity? For example, I take my son out on my bicycle for an hour-long ride a few days a week. He’s happy, we have occasional heart to heart talks, I get a workout in and I also get time to think or listen to a podcast. 

Finally, some basics. Find bright people who can work with you. Pay them out of pocket or collaborate with them and share the spoils. If you have repetitive tasks, try to automate them. Keep a to-do list or notes to do it later, and plough through them one at a time.  Nothing kills productivity like poorly run meetings that cram up your calendar. Use meetings to come to a consensus or a decision and not brainstorm ideas. 

Now let’s put all this together. To write this column every week, I’d have to read and research. I’d pick books that are aligned to this column or write about the things I’m reading. I’m making notes while I’m reading. I do most of my reading when I take my son out to play (multitasking?!). If I’m biking with him, then I plug into a podcast. To record a podcast, I’d have to identify interesting people. And once I identify them, I’d have to research them. I also learn while I’m recording with them. This not only gives me an insight into people with great vantage, but also the ideas they’re working with. The column is often an offshoot of such conversations, or a book that I’ve read. I also work these ideas into a bigger narrative. To sum up, the key is to keep the big direction fairly steady and find adjacencies that power each other.

Also read: Healing Space | The great Indian burn out