Is It Better To Focus on Only One Project Rather Than Taking On Many?
I say many is best!
Focus definitely has it's place, but it is important to stay versatile of thought and ability to keep your brain as limber as possible! Like any set of muscles, there needs to be periods of rest between activities to replenish, but the periods of rest need not be wasted time if you change activities, also changing how your brain is functioning. (ie working a different set of "mental muscles" while others recover and the subconscious has a chance to process the previous activities) This is why school is designed the way it is - it develops your brain in the most effective overall way possible by keeping you focused for useful segments of productive time, while still changing the activities enough to avoid stagnation.
There will always be lulls in ideas & motivation, but if you have many projects on the go, those lulls never need to be wasted time - just redirect yourself wherever the creativity is flowing best and you will always have something to show for your time! Your subconscious will continue to chew on the rest, and your time is best spent returning to things when your drive is sparked. You will find you are much more efficient and effective if you have many lines of productivity active all at once! (Like having multiple bands, or doing multiple things for one band, or cultivating a variety of types of activities that can interrelate and contribute to each other.)
If you focus too solidly on one thing and one thing only (whether a music project, or other creative endeavor) you limit your imagination, possibly discarding very inspired and usable ideas merely because they don't fit the particular mold on which you are focused. When you use your brain in one particular way over and over, you strengthen those pathways, and those that are less used atrophy - so you become more limited as time goes on.
The benefits to working on many things at a time:
1. You expand your creative experience
and learn different approaches to the same task, or you take on many types of creative activities (like music, art, writing & lyrical composition, costume-making, etc.) and learn to be creative in a wide variety of ways.
For sure focus is important! Especially when learning something, or finishing off an "almost-done-dammit!" project, but it should not keep you in a rut or limit you - it should be a tool in the short term rather than a life-limiting fixation that narrows your possibilities for expression.
2. Keep your creative mind versatile & limber!
It keeps your brain healthy and is a sign of intelligence!
It is not unfocussed if you keep your focus flexible and pointed in the most efficient & effective direction for each point in time!
Don't limit yourself! Every idea may have a place somewhere! Working on many things simultaneously means no good idea is wasted.
3. Multiple Projects Increase Exposure
The more projects you are involved in, the greater the audience potential!
People who may not like one project may love another! (Especially if they are very different from each other!) You do more shows, meet a greater variety of fans and other musicians, and increase the chances that at least ONE project will be noticed enough to take off!
4. Save Money!
Ordering merch in bulk for multiple projects at once will usually mean a bigger discount!
5. You'll have lots to show for your time! Even your social time is productive!
If you prefect the art of multitasking, or work on many things in a parallel way you will have TONS to show for your time! And you'll have so many memories and pictures and videos of the time spent with your friends, with a soundtrack and art you developed together to go with it!
Different friends may inspire you differently, but the best friendships are always the productive ones, where everyone learns from, and inspires each other!
Some Cons:
Obviously having too many things on the go can cause:
-Scheduling conflicts
-Or you find you are spread too thin
Really effective scheduling habits are the best solution! As well as recognizing that you do have to draw a line somewhere - know when to decline new projects. You can always still mull them over in the back of your mind and come back later when what is currently on your plate has reached a rest or finished point.
But I firmly believe that versatility in your creative habits is best!
So do lots and exercise your mind to its fullest potential!! Don't limit yourself!
Putting My Money Where My Mouth is - My own current juggling act of projects!:
I have definitely maxed out my own pile of projects:
- I play music in 5 bands (2 are record-only solo projects, 3 are working on performances)
- I'm learning to play bass, drums, synth & sample boards, power chords on guitar, and I do all my own recording and mixing for my solo industrial projects.
- I draw logos, artwork, comics, and paint for these music endeavors and other purposes
- I do interviews, edit videos, and post on 4 different blogs
- I do realistic wound make-up and costume making - both for band purposes, and just because I like to!
I definitely practice what I preach! Sometimes I am overwhelmed, but effective scheduling is the key! The only thing that suffers a bit is the learning of instruments, but as long as I keep at it, everything will be learned, and timing learned for one instrument applies to them all!
