Scale ease instead of effort. TIP: Ditch multitasking for this

How to turn scattered effort into focused progress… with way less burnout

Original image by Mike Jones via pexels. Modified by Author.

Psst, lean in... *whispers* I started doing something a little different in my workday… and noticed a shift almost immediately.

I wasn’t as scattered. My brain felt clearer. I was getting more done, and with less effort.

I felt focused, even though technically… I was doing multiple things at once.

That’s when I realized—
I wasn’t multitasking.
I was multipurposing!

And that small distinction changed how I work, how I feel, and what I was able to get done.

Look, I’m still in the early-ish stages of my Sandbox explorations with this, but there was just something about this that I had to look into more and explore how this subtle shift can change how we work… and create better quality results.

Less but Better, right?

Multitasking vs Multipurposing

At first glance, they might seem similar.

Both involve more than one thing happening at the same time. But the way they function—and what they do to your nervous system, output, and energy—is completely different.

Multitasking splits your focus.

It scatters your energy across different tasks, as your focus flips flops between one thing to another. Sure, it can feel productive, but it usually leaves you feeling drained or like you barely got stuff done.

My key thought patterns: “Wait, what was that again? Need to rewind (or reread that)” or “How come that took longer than expected?”

Multipurposing, on the other hand, is layered.

It starts with one intentional action that supports multiple outcomes. Your energy stays focused (and more relaxed). You feel more efficient as time becomes your helper, instead of something you struggle with. And more importantly, you walk away feeling clearer, more energized, and with more ease.

My new key thought patterns: “Wow, I got so much stuff done in less time.” or “That made things much easier and more enjoyable.”

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Here are some examples to make this distinction clearer:

Multitasking is taking client calls throughout the day while squeezing in admin tasks between. Multipurposing is batching all calls and meetings into two designated days (or afternoons only), leaving other days free for deep work, content creation, or rest.

Multitasking is listening to an audiobook while answering emails and scrolling through social media. Multipurposing is listening to that audiobook and jotting down notes for key insights that you can turn into Notes or longer form content with your own spin.

Multitasking is running errands while replying to DMs and listening to webinar or voiceover in the background. Multipurposing is taking your usual walking route to get some steps in, and using voice notes to capture ideas you can flesh out later or use that time to answer or create short voice messages.

Can you spot the difference?

I’ve done all of the above intentionally multiple times in the past 3 weeks, and noticed how differently I felt after:

One burnt through my attention and focus.
The other compounded my effort while being more present to the task at hand.

Nuances most people aren’t aware of

When it comes down to it, this is a seemingly subtle but powerful distinction and approach to your work life. On the surface, they can look like the same behavior. But energetically and strategically, they couldn’t be more different!

[1] Quantity vs Quality

• Multitasking gives you multiple outputs, but they’re often rushed, shallow, or require extra rounds of edits. The impact is diluted. You’re doing a lot but don’t feel fully present for most of them. You’re batching numerous tasks to increase quantity of outputs.

• Multipurposing creates compounding value. You start with a clear purpose, and then expand from there. There’s still action, but it’s layered with forethought as one thoughtful piece of work becomes fuel for multiple uses—without extra energy. You’re batching your energy and focus more effectively to increase the quality of your impact.

Blindspot: Many entrepreneurs are unknowingly recreating the same effort across multiple platforms or projects, when one well designed asset could do the heavy lifting across the board.

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[2] Control vs Flow

• Multitasking often comes from a need to control outcomes. You’re trying to manage everything all that once. It pacifies the part of you that’s afraid of falling behind, disappointing others, or missing something important.

• Multipurposing unlocks that highly-coveted state of flow. It creates space for creative problem solving and deeper, big picture thinking. You’re not hustling or forcing yourself to keep up. You’re designing ease into your Work Structure that carries you forward.

Blindspot: The more you multitask, the less space you have to think creatively, intuitively, or innovatively. Multitasking steals the very brain power needed to build the business you actually want.

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[3] Hustle vs Alignment

• Multitasking often reinforces an old belief: “The more or harder I work, the more productive I am.” That identity can feel noble, but it’s often rooted in proving your worth, not embodying it.

• Multipurposing supports an identity of alignment: “I use my time and energy well, because I know my worth and I don’t need to prove it through overdoing.”

Blindspot: If you tie your value to how much you do, multitasking will feel safer than slowing down. Until you question that core Work Identity belief, you will keep repeating the same patterns that lead to burnout.

Multitasking feels like rushing to check boxes

Multitasking often seems like a productivity booster. But in reality, it's a series of rapid context switches that strain your cognitive resources, leaving you feeling scattered and unfocused.

Each switch forces the brain to reorient, leading to what is known as "attention residue," where you carry mental fragments lingering from previous tasks into the next, making it harder to concentrate on new ones. This constant shifting not only increases the likelihood of errors but also contributes to mental fatigue and stress.

Repeating such patterns over time can diminish your ability to engage in deep, focused work. The more you multitask, the less effective and creative you become over time. This habit is one of the reasons why your attention span has effectively shortened to levels comparable to or even less than that of a goldfish!

Simply, when you multitask, your presence, attention, and nervous system all pay the price.

Multipurposing feels like working within your natural rhythms

When you multipurpose, you’re not stuffing more on your plate. You’re designing tasks or projects that ripple out into multiple results.

Multipurposing allows your brain to stay in a single cognitive mode longer, reducing mental fatigue and increasing output quality. Research in cognitive psychology shows that when you stay focused on one task for an extended period, you can more easily enter a state of flow, where productivity, creativity, and satisfaction naturally increase.

Instead of draining your energy by bouncing between unrelated activities, multipurposing channels it into one intentional action that produces layered results. This kind of strategic focus not only preserves your mental clarity but also builds momentum over time. By making this slight intentional tweak, you’re enhancing your efficiency without compromising your wellbeing or attention span!

More importantly, you can slow down and still feel good about it. That’s how you scale more ease.

Using one of the previous examples to illustrate the key difference between the two is that…

Multitasking is piling up multiple tasks that require similar levels or high cognitive resources to complete. When I’m running errands, my brain is trying to process where I am physically and what to do next, trying to comprehend the content of the webinar and periodically switching to different contexts in the DMs as I’m trying to think of a reply, and then typing that out.

Multipurposing is focusing on one task while keeping in mind of the multiple outcomes or at most pairing a low cognitive resources task with a higher one. My brain knows the walking route so well, it barely takes any mental effort to complete it because I can almost “do it in my sleep”. I only paired voice-message-related tasks when I was safely walking straight on the sidewalk, and I limit the number I do.

Holding my phone up while recording voice notes kept my head up and my awareness intact—versus typing with my head down, barely aware of my surroundings. (I almost walked into someone who was on his phone, too!)

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Btw, you’ve probably listened to a podcast or audiobook while doing the dishes before, which is more of a form of multipurposing than just multitasking. Because your brain can go on autopilot with a physical task, while you are only increasing cognitively processing on one mental thing.

The common problem with modern day multitasking is that we try to do too much mental processing all at once and that reduces the quality of our focus and unnecessarily stretches our cognitive resources thin.

How to shift from multitask to multipurpose

Now that you are more aware of and understand the nuances between the two, let’s turn that knowledge into wisdom by putting what you learned into action.

Here are 3 tips to get you started:

1. Ask this simple question

“How can I do one thing that serves many?”

This question alone can shift the way you design your time, effort, and presence. Be clear about the why, too. As always, your why serves as your fuel for motivation and clarity. When you know why, you’re more likely to be more intentional and follow through more effectively.

2. Set a core intention

Before you start any tasks, decide on one specific and clear intention to focus on for the next x amount of time. It’s helpful to write out the intention and list the potential outputs for your efforts. Why not add in a note-to-self for how this would bring you more ease into your work life, too? This is now your anchor point. Refer to that whenever you sense your focus splitting and refocus your attention.

3. Batch your energy, not just your tasks.

If you’re in a writing flow, stay there. Don’t interrupt it to edit graphics or answer emails. Do what you need to minimize any chance of being distracted. Minimize the urge to context switch. Protect that precious creative energy you’re in.

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Remember, this is an intentional choice and an experiment.

Toss out the need to be perfect. It’s about being more aware of what you’re doing and course correcting old behaviors when it happens.

If your intention is to scale more ease and not effort, then activate your curiosity and have fun with this. Trial and error different options to discover that optimal level and combination of tasks or outputs that work for you.

Like a scientist, log what you’ve noticed about your focus, energy, and quality of impact you get when you multipurpose vs multitask. Jot down what worked and what didn’t to help you take that next level of honing your multipurposing skills.

Multipurposing isn’t just a strategy. It’s a shift.

Here’s the truth: You’re not behind. You’re not broken. Your capacity isn’t the problem. It’s the way you’ve been taught to work.

What’s been draining you is how your energy has been scattered, trying to hold too many things at once without the space to breathe, think… or be.

Multipurposing isn’t just a clever strategy or hack.

It’s a reclamation.

Reclaim your presence. Reclaim your focus. Reclaim more ease in your work life. Reclaim your way of working that doesn’t cost you you.

Doing more can no longer be your choice.

This is your invitation to stop proving, stop performing, stop burning through your brilliance for scraps of progress.

Instead, focus on building momentum that actually feels good. It might feel slower but you’re building better in the long run.

You don’t have to earn your worth through overworking nor more effort.

You can show up differently and scale more ease… starting now.

P.S. If this made you nod along or finally understand about why you’re so dang tired by 2pm, tap the ❤️. Share or restack this post to help someone else swap that “busy brain burnout” for a way to work that has more flow and ease.