I’ve been reading about multitasking and its downsides for years. Everything I’ve read says the same thing. Context switching kills your focus, drains your energy, and produces worse results. I knew all this. And yet, here I am, catching myself doing exactly that.
What changed recently is that our tools got faster. AI coding agents can now do real work in parallel. You kick off one task, then jump to another while it runs, and then another. Before you know it, you have three things in flight and your brain is trying to hold the state of all of them. It’s the multitasking problem on steroids. The tools got better, but my brain didn’t get an upgrade.
A few weeks ago I decided to try something different. One thing at a time. Focus on the task in front of me until it’s done, or until it’s genuinely blocked and waiting on something or someone. Only then, move on to the next thing.
Simple, right? Almost embarrassingly obvious.
But here’s what surprised me. I immediately felt better. Calmer. More in control. Less of that low-level anxiety of wondering what’s falling through the cracks while I’m doing something else. My attention stopped bouncing around.
I’m not sure yet if the quality of my work has improved. It probably has, but I don’t have proof. What I do know is that my well-being improved. And maybe that’s enough. Maybe not every productivity change needs a spreadsheet to justify it. Sometimes you just feel better, and that’s the metric that matters.
There’s an old saying that keeps coming back to me. You can sprint, but you can’t sprint a marathon. Some days I catch myself running at sprint pace through everything, and by 3pm I’m cooked. Slowing down to marathon pace doesn’t mean doing less. It means lasting longer and finishing stronger.
If you’re working with AI tools that let you run things in parallel, be careful. The temptation to multitask is stronger than ever. Your tools can handle it. Your brain can’t.
One thing at a time. Try it for a week. See how you feel.
Here’s what I am doing
At Workbrew, I help our customers succeed, while working on docs, fixing bugs, and developing internal tools. At Amignosis, I pour my heart and skill into crafting slowly brewed software, one thoughtful line at a time. I am craftsman in a world of complexity and low-quality solutions. I am a shoemaker. I take the time to create simple, timeless software built to last. Check what I am doing now and talk to me.
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