It’s been a good week. I saw the sun three times. Really. But I’ve been busy inside so it doesn’t really mater if it’s raining or not. I’ve been working on editing two manuscripts to get them into shape for showing to editors and drawing a revised dummy for an editor.
As I get older I become more suspect of the idea of ‘multitasking’. The most recent information on it is that we don’t actually have the ability to multitask. We can do things for short intervals. But we can’t really take on several things at once. It’s an illusion. The more you are trying to do, the less well you do them all.
I think my best work comes when I have the longest time to work on one particular thing. Not doing 20 things in one day. But I also find that if I spend a week drawing, trying to hit a deadline, I really enjoy the chance the next week to sit down and write all day. Even editing is a good break from that 50 or 60 hours spent drawing and painting.
But my work suffers when I jump between too many projects at once. I can see examples in projects where I was hoping between things. They are less refined and while they generally appear fine, I know they could be better.
Now excuse me while I pick up my daughter from school, take one of the dogs to the vet, figure out what’s for dinner, vacuum the stairs and get a load of wash in the dryer. Yup, it’s the glamorous life of a multitasking work-at-home illustrator.
