I'm a generalist, really. I have some very deep knowledge in a set of specific categories, but the whole pleasure for me, is to be somewhat expert (okay, deeply expert) n more than one. I think most of my interests fit together(but not all) and that having diverse perspectives helps me keep learning and keep a fresh point of view.
On the other hand, if you are a generalist, the issue is keeping focus, Maintaining multiple interests or areas of expertise can make it easy to juggle too many balls. Too much juggling=stress, not success.
There's this delicate balance, or constant tension between my areas of focus that I enjoy, but that also scares me when I have BIG projects to take on.
The way I try to manage that is to think of my work as happening in bursts--ie, I don't have to be equally involved in thinking about media entrepreneurs and the future of news and content at the same time I am writing product specs for a non-profit portal rearchitecture.
My efforts in writing about sex, gender, identity and feminism can be balanced with my interest in training people and organizations how to use--and plan campaigns and programs--using social media.
Problem is, sometimes I just run out of time and have to make tough choices. I put my women-focused, entreprenurial startup idea on hold two months ago because I got two really great consulting projects and decided to do both over the 3 months. Fairly soon, I am going to get some new news that will lead to another focus in my set of interest areas, once again.
On one hand, I celebrate this and think it's great. I like blogging, consulting and doing start-ups simultaneously (and I like bootstrapping, too.)
On the other hand, I recognize that many people are more serial in their focus than I am (I think) and are more likely to do just one thing at time, not two or three.
Curious how this works for other folks--how many multiple projects do you maintain at one time, and what % of your strong interests or expertise do they reflect?
On the other hand, if you are a generalist, the issue is keeping focus, Maintaining multiple interests or areas of expertise can make it easy to juggle too many balls. Too much juggling=stress, not success.
There's this delicate balance, or constant tension between my areas of focus that I enjoy, but that also scares me when I have BIG projects to take on.
The way I try to manage that is to think of my work as happening in bursts--ie, I don't have to be equally involved in thinking about media entrepreneurs and the future of news and content at the same time I am writing product specs for a non-profit portal rearchitecture.
My efforts in writing about sex, gender, identity and feminism can be balanced with my interest in training people and organizations how to use--and plan campaigns and programs--using social media.
Problem is, sometimes I just run out of time and have to make tough choices. I put my women-focused, entreprenurial startup idea on hold two months ago because I got two really great consulting projects and decided to do both over the 3 months. Fairly soon, I am going to get some new news that will lead to another focus in my set of interest areas, once again.
On one hand, I celebrate this and think it's great. I like blogging, consulting and doing start-ups simultaneously (and I like bootstrapping, too.)
On the other hand, I recognize that many people are more serial in their focus than I am (I think) and are more likely to do just one thing at time, not two or three.
Curious how this works for other folks--how many multiple projects do you maintain at one time, and what % of your strong interests or expertise do they reflect?
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If you haven't, you should see the latest episode of 30 Rock.
I pride myself on being able to hold more than four or five things in mind at once. Even when I have to focus on something for a prolonged amount of time, I generally have a smaller task(s) to do in those moments of lull. It may be that my mind percolates or something, but I find that I end up having those ah-ha moments after a few hours of multi-tasking.
I am the kind of hacker that finds busy-work to be the antithesis of relaxing.
As for how my interest/expertise intercept with my projects, well, my unspoken vow of poverty (sans, or because of, the electronics budget) allows me to be deeply interested in all of the work/play I do. ^_^