Serial Creation: Make Better Stuff Faster and Easier

The process of creation breathes me. Always has, always will. I wake up every day thinking about what I am going to create, from business to art and health to relationships.

The bigger challenge for me has never been about having enough ideas, it's been about process. How do I get the most important things done AND pursue my creative quests in a way that both lets me create my best work and feel good along the way?

When it comes to completing these projects, I’ve long adhered to the principle of "parallel creation" and "batched" my time. I pursue anywhere from 3-10 major projects at the same time, then segment each day into distinct chunks dedicated to a specific task and projects (three hours to write, two hours to work on web development, one hour for fitness, etc.) and work away accordingly.

But after years of doing it this way, I’m starting to think this might not be the best approach.

A few months ago, I decided to experiment with a new strategy—serial creation.

Unlike parallel creation, serial creation isn't about batching your work during a working day. It's about zooming the lens out to 3 months, looking at what needs to happen with each major project in that window, then apportioning entire days or weeks to focus on one and only one project at a time, during that season.

No other projects. No distractions. No excuses.

I ran my first experiment like this while finishing the manuscript for my last book. The results were incredible. And, that's what I'm talking about on today's short and sweet GLP Riff.

It'll take me the better part of winter and spring to entirely transition from parallel to serial creation. But, it works so much better for me on every level, I'm committed to the goal.

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