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The Restless Writer
If a cat can embrace its nature, why can’t we?
Our cat is agitated.
I watch him jump at a toy I throw his way before he quickly dismisses it.
He moves from space to space, room to room, unable to settle into a comfortable position.
Finally, he collapses near my feet and stares off into space as he drifts to sleep.
Eventually, he will get back up again, ready to explore. It’s all part of his daily cycle.
A Juggling Act
I feel the cat’s agitation. Like him, I tend to jump around. I move from topic to topic, draft to draft.
In fact, as I write this, I have five semi-complete posts simmering in the background.
Some would find this approach crazy. For them, it’s better to carry a project to completion instead of tackling multiple tasks at once. A 2015 Forbes article supports this sentiment, using a workplace effectiveness study to conclude we can’t really focus on multiple tasks and maintain productivity. In reality, we are quickly jumping back and forth between tasks, never giving any single thing our full attention.
There’s merit in portions of this assessment, but it fails to consider individual preferences, especially in the creative process.
