Multi-tasking Isn't Really a Benefit Sometimes

I've been incredibly busy lately. All of the traveling I've done since July (I was only home for 4 days that entire month!) has finally ended. But the build-up of mail and projects and now preparing for the Holidays is keeping me just as overloaded.

I'm realizing that I've been taking a shotgun approach to all of the things that need my attention. That fits in with my ADD personality but it's very counter-productive. So I have made my New Year's Resolutions early this year and, in fact, it is just one. "Do one thing at a time." Think about that. We are a society of multi-taskers. And in some ways it is good and allows us to accomplish more. But what I'm finding is that it contributes greatly to the sense of chaos in my own life.

Kids always bring you back to the important stuff. I found myself continuing to type while having a "conversation" with my 22 year old daughter on speakerphone and she called me on it. "You're not listening to me, are you? I can hear you typing!" It reminded me of when she was a very little girl and I would always tell her "people matter, not things." Well one night I was putting her to bed rather late and my favorite TV show was about to come on. I was trying to rush through our "good nights" and she brought me right back to reality with my own words. She looked me in the eye and in her little girl voice she said, "Mommy, people matter, not things." Needless to say I finished our good night routine at leisure.

And the saddest thing about that story is that I had the VCR set-up to record that program. It wasn't that I was going to miss it, I just wanted to see it right then. My priorities got messed up, big time. And that is what happens when I find myself multi-tasking too much. I'm so busy trying to do several things at once that I forget to prioritize.

So starting today I am making a conscious commitment to focusing on one thing at a time. If I find myself multi-tasking I will stop and re-focus. I'll let you know how it goes.