--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I usually have more than one thing I'm…" description: "\"I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once -- I've been working on three different novels. When I get stuck on one, I hop back and forth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png" --- # I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once… ![“I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once -- I've been working on three different novels. When I get stuck on one, I hop back and forth. It's sort of freeing: I can say I'm abandoning this thing that I hate forever and I'm moving on to something that's good. I'll find that I'll go…” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png) > “I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once -- I've been working on three different novels. When I get stuck on one, I hop back and forth. It's sort of freeing: I can say I'm abandoning this thing that I hate forever and I'm moving on to something that's good. I'll find that I'll go back to \[the other project\] in a day or a week and like it again. But that moment of wanting to trash something -- that Virginia Woolf moment when you have to be stopped from filling your pocket with stones -- comes pretty regularly for me. Switching is probably a good thing.” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Multitasking creative projects can prevent stagnation, allowing ideas to incubate and revive. **In simple terms:** Working on many things keeps creativity fresh. Key Takeaway Embrace project switching for momentum. Themes creativity productivity focus flexibility growth Mood inspirational pragmatic Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing sessions - artistic collaborations - personal development Key Concepts flow state creative block project management Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which project to prioritize? - What rituals help transition between tasks? A Different Perspective Frequent switching may dilute depth of work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandoning Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoning-thing-4571069/) [Back and forth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-and-forth/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Filling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filling/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hops/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [I hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-hate/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-stuck-4365136/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Pockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pockets/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Regularly Switching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regularly-switching-4571070/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Switching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/switching/) [That moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/that-moment/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trash/) [Virginia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia-woolf/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woolf/) [Woolf Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woolf-moment-4571071/) [Working Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-different-275733/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once - I've been working on three different novels. When I get stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-working-on-at-once-i-ve-been/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I will keep working on different aspects of my games. It's not so easy, and I need to work on every stroke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-v-sindhu/i-will-keep-working-on-different-aspects-of-my-games-it-s-not-so-easy/) [P. V. Sindhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-v-sindhu/) > [I work like a labourer on a farm or in a vineyard. Things come to me slowly. My vocabulary of forms, for instance, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/i-work-like-a-labourer-on-a-farm-or-in-a-vineyard-things-come-to-me/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [I like working with different directors; it keeps you on your toes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaske-spencer/i-like-working-with-different-directors-it-keeps-you-on-your-toes/) [Chaske Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaske-spencer/) > [Just knowing how the body works and being athletic means it's easier to stay athletic while working a different job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-hosk/just-knowing-how-the-body-works-and-being-athletic-means-it-s-easier/) [Elsa Hosk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-hosk/) > [I definitely enjoy working within different contexts, with different collaborators, and in different locations. I need to keep feeding myself as an artist by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirah/i-definitely-enjoy-working-within-different-contexts-with-different/) [Mirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirah/) > [I've always created solo work. When I first came to New York I was working in a few different areas; I was working as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-e-brown/i-ve-always-created-solo-work-when-i-first-came-to-new-york-i-was/) [Guillermo E. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-e-brown/) > [There was no equal pay law when I started working. I was no different to any other woman in any other job at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-adie/there-was-no-equal-pay-law-when-i-started-working-i-was-no-different/) [Kate Adie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-adie/) > [I enjoy learning new things, working on different things, and just seeing what I can do with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-elkins/i-enjoy-learning-new-things-working-on-different-things-and-just/) [Darren Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-elkins/) > [My way of working was different years ago. I used to wait until an idea came to me. Now I go half-way to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/my-way-of-working-was-different-years-ago-i-used-to-wait-until-an/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The first few episodes of the series were taxing for cast and crew. The biggest challenge for me was rest. We were out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-welling/the-first-few-episodes-of-the-series-were-taxing-for-cast-and-crew/) [Tom Welling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-welling/) > [If I had my druthers, I would be working in all different mediums, forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-paulson/if-i-had-my-druthers-i-would-be-working-in-all-different-mediums/) [Sarah Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-paulson/) > [Collaboration is such a thrill when you're working with someone you really respect. When it's just one person working alone you get a singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/collaboration-is-such-a-thrill-when-you-re-working-with-someone-you/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [The whole thing of working in all these different mediums, it's just so that I can always be playing hooky from one of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/the-whole-thing-of-working-in-all-these-different-mediums-it-s-just/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [I think the biggest thing is kind of working everywhere and working with different people that, when I did walk through the door at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samoa-joe/i-think-the-biggest-thing-is-kind-of-working-everywhere-and-working/) [Samoa Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samoa-joe/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## More Back and forth quotes > [He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/he-should-release-the-tax-returns-tomorrow-it-s-crazy-you-ve-got-to/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [I think my work comes out of both an intense desire for connection and what it means to feel isolated. There's always going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/i-think-my-work-comes-out-of-both-an-intense-desire-for-connection/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It is an intimately communicative affair between the painter and his painting, a conversation back and forth, the painting telling the painter even as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/it-is-an-intimately-communicative-affair-between-the-painter-and-his/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Belief in oneself is a crucial quality of leadership, because 'a house divided against itself cannot stand.' A leader who fluctuates back and forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/belief-in-oneself-is-a-crucial-quality-of-leadership-because-a-house/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) > [CS: I always say there's a tribal element in a rock concert. There's a real back-and-forth thing that goes on between the audience and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-stein/cs-i-always-say-there-s-a-tribal-element-in-a-rock-concert-there-s-a/) [Chris Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-stein/) > [I'm a southern girl, and I grew up with this slightly schizophrenic upbringing where I bounced back and forth between Atlanta, Georgia, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/i-m-a-southern-girl-and-i-grew-up-with-this-slightly-schizophrenic/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [Originally, one of the reasons I was drawn to photography, as opposed to painting or sculpture or installation, is that of all the arts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/originally-one-of-the-reasons-i-was-drawn-to-photography-as-opposed/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [Until presence becomes your predominant state, you may find yourself moving back and forth for a while between the old consciousness and the new,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/until-presence-becomes-your-predominant-state-you-may-find-yourself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Real communication is an attitude, an environment. It is the most interactive of all processes. It requires countless hours of eyeball to eyeball, back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/real-communication-is-an-attitude-an-environment-it-is-the-most/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [People jump back and forth in pursuit of pleasures only because they see the emptiness of their lives more clearly than they do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/people-jump-back-and-forth-in-pursuit-of-pleasures-only-because-they/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [How long were the stretches of toilsome tacking back and forth, of being blocked, of being thrown back again and again. But all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-kollwitz/how-long-were-the-stretches-of-toilsome-tacking-back-and-forth-of/) [Kathe Kollwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-kollwitz/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [ One day he \[Wagner\] was batting against a young pitcher who had just come into the league. The catcher was a kid, too .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burleigh-grimes/one-day-he-wagner-was-batting-against-a-young-pitcher-who-had-just/) [Burleigh Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burleigh-grimes/) > [If I were just to read briefing books or I were just to engage in the political back and forth, would I have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-were-just-to-read-briefing-books-or-i-were-just-to-engage-in-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [ Writing two stories \[in the Thorn and the Blossom\] about the same set of events that were complete stories in themselves, but also added… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/writing-two-stories-in-the-thorn-and-the-blossom-about-the-same-set/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) [Browse all 224 Back and forth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-and-forth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once -- I've been working on three different novels. When I get stuck on one, I hop back and forth. It's sort of freeing: I can say I'm abandoning this thing that I hate forever and I'm moving on to something that's good. I'll find that I'll go back to [the other project] in a day or a week and like it again. But that moment of wanting to trash something -- that Virginia Woolf moment when you have to be stopped from filling your pocket with stones -- comes pretty regularly for me. Switching is probably a good thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-working-on-at-once-i-ve-been-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Back and forth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-working-on-at-once-i-ve-been-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/dan-chaon-2729_back-and-forth_i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-w_2970450.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I usually have more than one thing I'm working on at once -- I've been working on three different novels…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dan Chaon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I usually have more than one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-working-on-at-once-i-ve-been-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-usually-have-more-than-one-thing-i-m-working-on-at-once-i-ve-been-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```