Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Somebody Stop Me


I haven't been perfect in my quest for simplification so far, but I feel like I'm making steady progress--except in one area: Single-tasking instead of multi-tasking.


I decided to try to do only one thing at a time--no working while eating lunch, no checking email while working on a project, no sorting papers while talking on the phone. But IT'S SO HARD!! Not because I love multi-tasking so much--I don't!-- but because I'm always struggling so hard to get it all done.


Last August, a dear friend (some of you know who I'm talking about) invited me to a Saturday for the Soul that she was leading on the topic of Time. And it was wonderful--just what I needed to hear. But mentally assenting to what she said is one thing; putting her wisdom and insights into practice is quite another.


One thing that has really surprised me as I've tried to stop multi-tasking is how painful it is. It's as if I can't allow myself the luxury of doing only one thing. Somehow I feel compelled--and I mean that word in its most extreme sense--to do more.


I'm not giving up, but I am taking suggestions.


2 comments:

Courtney said...

A nice glass of wine usually cures my need to multitask. ;)

On a more serious note, have you read The Firstborn Advantage by Dr. Kevin Lehman? It helped me identify why I felt compelled to do more, and more, and more, and-- well you understand. :)

Stephanie said...

Somehow, I think having a glass of wine at my desk would be highly frowned upon :-)

And I haven't read that, but I probably should. Thanks for the recommendation!