How to Manage Multiple Goals (create ‘Focus Loops’)

I’m multi-passionate and that’ll never change.

I have many projects, side quests and passions that I could never abandon. I’ll never be able to respond to “What do you do?” with a neat and tidy answer.

And I love it. It’s who I am, and it’s probably you too (which is why you’re here).

So if you’re like me (constantly juggling many ideas), then this is my complete system for how to manage multiple goals by using focus loops.

Focus loops is a system I created to better organize and work on my most important projects.

Because the truth is, a multi-passionate life with lots of goals is not only possible, but it’s a superpower.

Table of Contents Show

---

Hey there, just a heads up some links in this post may be affiliate links, which earn me a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you, but helps me keep the lights on. Thanks for your support!

---

Managing Multiple Goals (pros + cons)

It’s worth nothing that I often refer to goals as projects. For me, the two are interchangeable (but projects feel more tangible and active).

So as you read through this post, you’ll see me hopping between the two terms.

But before we get into all that strategy stuff, let’s look at the pros and cons of pursuing many things.

The Upside of Many Goals :)

• Diverse skill development

• More balance in your pursuits

• No need to “abandon” a passion

• Create unique layers of authenticity

• It’s very doable with modern tools like AI

• Reduces monotony — keeps things interesting

• More lines in the water (= more chances of success)

The Downside of Many Goals :(

• Additional pressure to succeed in more than one area

• Non-linear paths aren’t for everyone

• Slower to reach key milestones

• Focus and clarity issues

• Prioritization issues

• Time constraints

So, What Are Focus Loops?

Focus loops, or passion loops, are organized collections of your all your interests, passions and projects.

There are 4 main levels (or “rings” as I call them):

• Core active goals. These are projects that you’re currently working on or obsessed with.

• Core inactive goals. These are projects that you still want to pursue, but are currently paused (for whatever reason).

• Side quests. These are potential ideas and passions that may turn into deeper projects.

• Sandbox ideas. These are your most random rabbit holes and creative ideas.

Why I Use Focus Loops to Manage Many Goals

Focus loops don’t just help me manage many goals. They help me actually reach key milestones and stay consistent.

I also feel way less guilty about constantly shifting focus and chasing random side quests.

Focus loops are flexible and allow me to explore new ideas, take breaks and build authenticity (by layering interests)

I’m able to follow my curiosities and discover unique connections by layering related projects or side quests on top of each other.

So often, when I work on one project, I end up making progress in other areas as well.

Focus loops add intention and clarity to confusion and chaos.

This system is truly built for a multi-passionate life. And that’s why I love it.

How to Create Focus Loops (+ manage multiple goals)

1. Define Your Core Projects

Every focus loop starts with a collection of your main projects. These projects can be active or inactive (depending on your mood and needs).

So jot down exactly which goals you’re trying to juggle (or have tried to juggle in the past).

Below your core projects, you can write down all of your side quests (or potential ideas for the future). These are like back-burner goals hanging in the periphery.

So once you defined your main goals, it’s time to organize them better and look for through lines.

2. Create Through Lines + Life Buckets

“A through line is what connects multiple goals or seemingly different ideas.”

Having a solid through line will add clarity, direction and purpose to an otherwise meandering path.

For example, my core domains are music, art, blogging and YouTube and each one has its own loop with multiple goals (obviously, I needed a system to manage all these freaking goals lol).

But everything I do is grounded by my through lines: creativity, life autonomy, adventure and multi-passionate living.

You may just need one through line, or (like me) you may end up with multiple themes.

And if you’re not sure where to start, think about your personal values (I’ve found they’re often related).

You may also find that you need different passion loops for different areas of your life.

For example, you might have one category (or life bucket) for finance, one for career and one for personal passion projects.

Then, inside of each life bucket, you might have a specific loop of projects you’re working on with specific through lines in each of them.

In this case, start by creating life categories to first clarify life buckets. Then create loops for each of them.

This system supports flexibility, spontaneity, exploration and creativity.

3. Break Down Each Project

Big goals aren’t reached suddenly, with one giant leap. As you know, great things are built slowly, one step at a time.

So the next level of building a focus loop is to break down your individual projects into small steps.

Reverse engineering goals makes big ideas tiny, less stressful and more sustainable.

So for each project in your focus loop, do this:

• Break down your main goal into micro goals (main milestones)

• Break down each micro goal into nano goals (daily actions)

• Focus on the nano

4. Follow Your Mood

Once your focus loops are set up and your goals broken down, it’s time to work on them.

But you be asking — which one do I work on first??

Whichever goal you feel like!

This is my favorite part of about focus loops. They’re built to leverage your mood and motivation.

It’s a permission slip to work on the things you feel like working on. Follow your intuition and energy — go where your attention is.

I’m constantly shifting focus between this blog, my music and new business ideas. Sometimes, I work on this blog for weeks. Then I “pause” this project, because my creative energy is focused entirely on music.

When you work where your energy is, you do your best work.

Again, this system is built for multi-passionates.

And if none of your active loops or projects are calling you, then you have three choices:

• Rely on discipline (great for habit building or meeting deadlines)

• Explore new interests (great for creativity)

• Take a break (great to avoid burnout)

Explore more:
➤ Mood Follow Action (well, sometimes)

5. Side Quests + New Interests

“My focus loop system is totally flexible, meaning you can pause, swap out or delete projects in your main loop at any time.”

As you move forward in your creative life, some projects will be more consistent — but side quests will never stop.

For example, music and blogging are always in my loop. But recently, I’ve been obsessed with no-code software development.

The multi-passionate life is full of inspiration and tinkering.

I’m frequently called in various directions — sometimes for a weekend, sometimes for a season.

So a truly good productivity system is one that works with me, not against me. It’s personal productivity, after all.

That’s why I like focus loops for managing multiple goals. It works with me.

So say hello to guilt-free side questing and productive procrastination.

Explore your interests and enjoy those rabbit holes.

6. Optimize With AI

In my opinion, the coolest part about this AI revolution is that it’s making it WAY easier to pursue multiple passions. Why?

Because we can outsource and automate all the boring, technical or difficult stuff.

Here’s my simple rule for doing it though:

Automate what you hate, keep what you love.

This is completely logical. Your authenticity, creative spark and motivation are fueled by the things you love.

AI lets you conserve energy, work faster, manage multiple projects and leverage your spark — that magic and unique twist you bring to the table.

For example, I love making melodies and strong hooks with finger-picked guitars in my music. But I don’t always feel motivated to create drum sections or finding perfect EQ levels. So I can leverage automation tools for those things.

With modern technology and intentional automation, I can do it all — make music, do artist, blog, make videos, create content and explore new side quests.

Ahh, life is good. 😏🌴

7. Have Somewhere to Manage Your Multiple Goals

Focus loops mean nothing if they stay in your head. It’s like a plan without any action.

So we need somewhere to actually create and manage our projects and loops.

Personally, I use Notion because you can easily create nested subpages, to-do lists and kanban boards for visual appeal.

But there are plenty of tools (from vision boards to Google Docs). And the perfect tool is always the tool that you like best.

BTW, I’m creating a Notion template for this whole system. So if you’re keen to know when that drops, then bookmark this page or subscribe to my newsletter!

Later ✌️

It’s modern life and you can absolutely manage multiple goals.

As a multi-passionate person, we have more tools, resources and inspiration than ever before. So having a good system is essential. This is why I created focus loops.

Focus loops are ways to organize and manage multiple projects. You can organize them into different life buckets, create multiple loops and swap out projects any time.

It’s built for the non-linear, multi-path life.

So go chase those dreams and explore many things. Remember, it’s your superpower.

---

Want More? Nice. Here’s More.