How to Apply the Feynman Technique to Study and Work with Multiple Projects Without Losing Clarity

Managing multiple projects at once—whether as a freelancer, part of a cross-functional team, or even balancing work and studies—requires more than just organization. It demands mental clarity. When you switch between tasks from different domains (a financial report, a UI design, a programming class, and family event logistics), concepts blur, deadlines overlap, and information becomes fuzzy. This is where the Feynman technique for studying and working with multiple projects becomes your ally. It’s not just about memorizing; it’s about understanding, simplifying, and retaining the core of each area so you can act with precision. And the best part? It works equally well for a technical concept, a business strategy, or an internal team process.

What Is the Feynman Technique (and Why It Works for Multiple Projects)

Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate, developed a learning method based on a radical premise: if you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t truly understand it. His technique isn’t a memorization trick but an active process of deconstructing, identifying gaps, and reconstructing knowledge. When you apply the Feynman technique to multiple projects, something powerful happens: concepts stop being isolated islands and connect in your mind as a coherent system.

The 4 Original Steps (and How to Adapt Them to Your Multi-Project Reality)

• 1. Choose a concept and write it down as if teaching it to a child: Avoid jargon. For example, if you’re learning about blockchain for a finance project, don’t use terms like 'decentralization' or 'hash.' Instead, write: 'It’s like a notebook where everyone can write, but no one can erase what’s already written.'
• 2. Identify gaps in your explanation: Underline the parts where you blank out or resort to technical terms. Those are the areas you need to review. If you work in both marketing and design, you might understand what a creative brief is but not how to prioritize its elements when juggling three campaigns at once.
• 3. Simplify with analogies or everyday examples: Use situations from other projects to anchor the concept. For example, if you manage a remote team and an in-person one, compare asynchronous communication to 'leaving notes on the fridge for your roommate to read when they get home.'
• 4. Review and organize: Rewrite the explanation, this time ordering ideas from simplest to most complex. If the concept is key to multiple projects (like prioritization or workflow), create a generic version and another tailored to each context.

The Feynman technique isn’t an exercise in repetition but in translation: turning the abstract into the concrete, the complex into the actionable, and the isolated into the connected.

How to Apply the Feynman Technique When Working on Multiple Projects at Once

1. Create a 'Feynman Glossary' for Each Project

When managing multiple areas, it’s easy to confuse similar terms with different meanings. For example, sprint in software development isn’t the same as sprint in a marketing campaign. To avoid this, dedicate a page or document to each project and note down key concepts explained using the Feynman technique. Use the same format for all: simple definition + example + analogy + relationship to other projects. This way, when you need to recall what an MVP is for your startup, you won’t have to dig through notes on design, development, and business.

2. Use the 'Sticky Note Method' to Connect Ideas Across Projects

Stick a note on your desk or create a digital board with three columns: Concept | Project A | Project B. For example:

• Concept: Feedback.
• Project A (App Development): 'User comments on the beta version to fix bugs.'
• Project B (Online Course): 'Student evaluations to improve practical exercises.'

This exercise helps you spot patterns and transfer solutions from one project to another. If you find that a feedback format works well in your course, you might adapt it for user testing in your app.

3. Teach the Concept to Someone from a Different Field (or to Yourself Out Loud)

The ultimate test of mastering a topic is explaining it to someone who knows nothing about it. If you work in design and development, try explaining *what a wireframe is to a friend in humanities using only metaphors: 'It’s like a house blueprint: no colors or furniture, just walls and rooms to know where everything goes.'* If you don’t have anyone around, record yourself and listen back: inconsistencies will jump out at you.

Practical Example: Applying the Feynman Technique to Prioritization Across 3 Projects

Imagine you’re managing these three projects simultaneously:

• Project 1: Launch an email marketing campaign for a client (deadline: 2 weeks).
• Project 2: Learn a new development framework for an internal project (deadline: 1 month).
• Project 3: Organize a family event (deadline: 3 weeks).

The key concept here is prioritization. Apply the Feynman technique step by step:

Step 1: Simple Explanation

Write: 'Prioritizing is deciding which task to do first, which to leave for later, and which not to start at all, based on what has the most impact and what can’t be postponed.'

Step 2: Identify Gaps

When you reread, you realize you haven’t defined what 'impact' means in each project. For the client, impact = sales; for the framework, impact = ability to deliver the internal project on time; for the event, impact = happy guests. Here’s the gap.

Step 3: Simplify with Analogies

Use a metaphor that applies to all three projects: 'Prioritizing is like packing a backpack: you can’t take everything, so you choose what’s lightweight but valuable (like a first-aid kit) and leave out what’s heavy but not urgent (like a book you can read later).' In this case:

• First-aid kit (high value, little time): Sending campaign emails on high-open-rate days (Project 1), learning basic framework commands to start coding (Project 2), confirming attendance of key guests (Project 3).
• Book (low value, much time): Designing the perfect email template (Project 1), mastering advanced framework features you don’t need yet (Project 2), choosing event decorations (Project 3).

Step 4: Review and Organize

Rewrite your prioritization definition, now with concrete examples for each project. Save this version in your 'Feynman glossary' and review it whenever deadlines start overlapping.

Common Mistakes When Using the Feynman Technique with Multiple Projects (and How to Avoid Them)

• Confusing simplification with superficiality: The Feynman technique isn’t about staying at the basics but understanding the essentials to then go deeper. If you explain machine learning as 'magic that predicts things,' you’re not simplifying—you’re avoiding learning. Better: 'It’s like teaching a child to recognize dogs: you show them lots of pictures, and over time, they learn to tell them apart on their own.'
• Not adapting analogies to context: A useful analogy for one project might be confusing for another. For example, comparing an algorithm to a recipe works for explaining programming to a beginner but not for discussing efficiency with a technical team. Create specific analogies for each audience.
• Leaving concepts on paper: The Feynman technique is useless if you don’t apply it. After writing your explanations, turn each concept into an action. For example, if you simplified time management as 'deciding which tasks are like water (urgent) and which are like wine (important but not urgent),', use that metaphor to label your tasks in your organization system.
• Ignoring connections between projects: When working on multiple fronts, it’s tempting to treat each project as a silo. But the Feynman technique shines when you find patterns. For example, if your development project uses sprints and your marketing project uses feedback cycles, you might realize both are ways to iterate quickly and apply lessons from one to the other.

Tools to Apply the Feynman Technique in Your Daily Work

You don’t need complex tools to use this method, but some can help you organize, review, and connect your Feynman explanations across projects:

• Shared documents (Google Docs, Notion): Create a database with a page per project and a section for key concepts. Use the Feynman technique format (definition + example + analogy) and add links between related concepts from different projects.
• Mind maps (Miro, XMind): Visualize how concepts from your projects connect. For example, a mind map with prioritization at the center and branches toward email campaign, development framework, and family event, with concrete examples for each.
• Voice recorder: Use your phone to record yourself explaining a concept out loud. Listen back and note which parts are unclear or need more simplification.
• Physical or digital whiteboard: Draw diagrams or sketches representing your analogies. For example, a Venn diagram to show which tasks are urgent in two projects at once.

How to Integrate the Feynman Technique into Your Multi-Project Workflow

The Feynman technique isn’t an isolated exercise but a habit you can incorporate into your routine. Here’s how to do it without overloading your schedule:

1. Spend 10 Minutes a Day 'Feynmanizing' a Concept

Pick a concept you used that day in one of your projects and apply the 4 steps. For example, if you reviewed a brief for a client today, simplify what a brief is and how to prioritize its elements. Jot it down in your glossary and review it the next day.

2. Use the Feynman Technique in Meetings or Reviews

Before a meeting with your team or client, choose a key concept from the project and prepare it using the Feynman technique. During the meeting, explain that concept in simple terms and ask for feedback: 'Does this make sense, or is there something I haven’t clarified?' This not only improves communication but also reinforces your own learning.

3. Apply the Feynman Technique to Mental Blocks

When you feel overwhelmed by a project’s complexity, pause and ask: 'Which concept in this project don’t I fully understand?' Apply the Feynman technique to that concept, and you’ll see the block dissolve. For example, if you’re stuck on a financial report because you don’t understand profit margins, simplify it: 'It’s what’s left after subtracting costs from revenue, like the money you have left after paying rent and groceries.'

The Feynman Technique as a Bridge Between Projects (and How Foco Can Help)

When working on multiple projects, the Feynman technique helps you translate concepts from one domain to another, but you also need a system to organize those ideas into action. This is where tools like Foco come in. For example, you can create a work in Foco for each project (with its distinctive color) and use the attached notes for each task to store your Feynman explanations. That way, when you review the task 'Learn basic React commands,' you’ll see your note with the analogy that simplified the concept: 'React is like Lego: each piece (component) snaps together to build something bigger.'

Additionally, if you use Foco’s voice capture, you can dictate a Feynman explanation on the go and attach it to the corresponding task. For example, while walking, you record: 'A sprint in development is like a relay race: each team member runs their part and passes the baton (the code) to the next.' Foco will transcribe the audio and save it as a note in the task 'Plan sprint 3.' That way, the next time you review that task, you’ll have your simple explanation at hand, without needing to dig through documents.

The Feynman technique and tools like Foco don’t compete—they complement each other: one helps you understand, the other helps you execute. When you manage to simplify the complex and organize it into actionable tasks, managing multiple projects stops being chaos and becomes a clear system, even when deadlines are tight.