There's two things going on here. The thing that I think is going to help you the most is recording and remembering your goal. The second is trying to figure out how to manage multiple projects. Understanding your goal will, in all likelihood, help you understand how to prioritize and manage.

I have a similar problem in that I've always got lots of projects going at once, and I ALWAYS have new ideas pop into my head. When I have a new idea, I take a moment to flesh it out VERY broadly. I note the goal, the result, or the outcome I'm trying to achieve. I note, very generally, how I'm going to get there. Once it's out of my head, I move on, back to my original project.

If I start getting restless because my NEW idea is more interesting than my old idea, depending on how much time I can or can't devote to it, I may take a break from my current project to work on the exciting new project. I understand my thinking enough to realize that I'm less productive doing Task A while thinking about Task B than if I took a break from Task A to do something with Task B. If I need to interrupt, I make enough notes to realize where I am and how to continue when I come back to it, and then turn my attentions elsewhere.

There are a lot of good resources on this site for time management and balancing multiple goals. The trick is to KNOW what those goals are. Once you're in the habit of noting your goals and exploring different time management techniques, you'll undoubtedly find a method that works for you. It may be to do one thing at a time, it may be to do many things at once, or, more likely, a blend of both depending on the projects and their priorities.

Whichever method works for YOU is the right one for YOU. Just remember you can't get anywhere unless you know where you're going. :)

Good luck!

Mind always does at least 2 task in parallel: One you can observe, another you can't. The second task is basically related to body, routine activities etc.

For example:

• You can listen music when you are traveling or waling. Because both tasks don't require much concentration.
• You can read books while relaxing your legs in water.

Do tasks sequentially if all tasks required good attention/concentration.

Do tasks in parallel if N-1 of them don't require attention/concentration or less.

If you think you are washing time then you need proper planning. Always be ready with some small tasks which can be finished when you are supposed to wait longer for completion of any task.

For example:

• You can read news paper while installing some software in your PC
• Or you can clean your desk while waiting for guests coming to your home.

I've always found myself to be far more productive when I do one thing at a time, even when the task is repeating. Take, for example, that you must make lots of envelopes. Each envelope has three items to be included,two address stickers to attach, and of course each envelope must be closed by removing a tape. One way would be to:

1. Take one item from each pile  
2. Add them to an envelope 
3. Attach the sender sticker 
4. Attach the recipient sticker 
5. Remove the tape from the envelope and close it
6. Return to step 1, until done

But what I usually prefer to do is to do each of those tasks in one go, one thing at a time:

1. Make piles where each contains the three separate items ("dealing the cards")
2. Add all piles to their respective envelope
3. Attach the sender stickers to all envelopes
4. Attach the recipient stickers to all envelopes
5. Remove the tapes from all envelopes
6. Close all envelopes

The amount of steps is the same, but I find I work much faster working this way. It's like I gain much more fluidity and speed by repeating the task non-stop until it is done, and then doing the next task.

I have never done any benchmarks on this, though. Perhaps this would be a fun experiment to do - which method is faster to finish.