I glanced at the recipe again… keep stirring for a few minutes. I could hear the washing machine whirring away in the background, recognising the final spin cycle and planning to hang it all out before dinner. Miss 9 was perched up at the bench writing in her notebook while Master 7 was lining his dinosaurs up for battle along the window ledge.
My phone bipped on the bench beside me, I checked the message and began to type a reply with one hand as I continued stirring with the other.
As I helped Miss 9 with the spelling of a word my distracted mind wrote the same word within my text. Mmmmmm now my message no longer made sense, delete, delete. Oh what was I saying?
“Mum, Mum have you seen my green dinosaur with the red eyes?”
“What! Hang on just a minute.”
Oh this sauce is such a pain. I cease stirring, needing both hands to complete my text message before I begin mentioning dinosaurs and red eyes.
I quickly hit send and in the same moment notice spell check had completely changed some of the words and in turn my meaning.
Damn why didn’t I check it properly?
“Mum what is a fancy word for yummy?”
“Let me think sweetness.”
Mum have you seen my dinosauuuuuurrrr!!!!”
“What dinosaur?”
“The one I just told you about?”
“When?”
“Maybe delicious? Mum what do you think?”
Delicious oh yes, oh no the sauce!!!!!!
I am a chronic multi tasker.
I have often thought of multi tasking as a gift, a super power even, one many of us are born with. The high achiever within me agrees. How else would I get it all done? Exceed expectations and dazzle the crowd.
Not only can my fingers click, swipe, stir and write, my mouth can simultaneously move to hold down a conversation and all the while my mind is flitting from conversations, to topics and planning more tasks.
All at the same time.
Let me finish my story…… I did end up with lumpy sauce. I later sent several more text messages to clarify the meaning of the original spell checked disaster. Miss 9 gave up on the story and just as hubby arrived home from work I was berating Master 7 about the responsibilities of dinosaur ownership and how they are not Mummy’s to look after.
Moments later I found the infamous dinosaur perched on the laundry shelf. How did he get there? I recalled stopping to load the washing machine while talking on the phone and tidying up earlier that day. I had absent-mindedly left dear dinosaur behind.
I was multi tasking then too.
I wandered back into the kitchen ,with the dinosaur in my hand, to see my daughters writing book now sitting unattended on the bench, my lumpy sauce ready to be poured down the sink and my gorgeous son crawling under the couch still looking for his toy.
In that very moment I realised when I am multi tasking I am also dividing my attention.
I am short-changing those around me and I am also short-changing myself.
I want to stop multi tasking.
How about you, are you a multi tasked? Does it work well for you?
This reminder couldn’t come at a better time as I am trying to do a million things getting ready for our big week of moving. I’d be so, so much more efficient if I just completed one task then moved onto another. I’m sure I’m going to find some items that got misdirected into the wrong boxes. Ahhhhhh…Breathe, Mo, breathe…
Yes Mo breathe. Often we are multi tasking without realising and certainly when under the pressure you are we bring out the tool all the time. Thinking of you and hoping not too much goes astray.
I feel the same way! I’m such a multi-tasker and I always thought I was so brilliant. My husband doesn’t multi-task and he doesn’t believe in it. He tells his employees to focus on one thing at a time and to focus on it WELL.
Sure enough, I often have misspelled text messages, burnt or lumpy cheese sauce, and I have answered my daughter incorrectly with important questions.
Or worse, I brush her off.
This is a perfect reminder for me today.
Tamara I thought of your recent post when you talked about reading blogs while blowdrying your hair and how impressed I was. Many of us fall victim to multi tasking and I even try to devise ways to do it. Writing this post helped me understand the chaos I create for myself by doing it.
I am so guilty of this which is why my word of the year is FOCUS. I’m getting better at it…
I love your word FOCUS and I agree multi tasking does not lead to focus. Thrilled to hear you are getting better at focus.
Love how you focus.
Thanks for sharing this
Thanks Terri, thrilled you stopped by.
First Karen, I learned a new word: bipping! So that’s what my phone does. Can you see me smiling?
This is written beautifully–you sure describe the messiness of multi-tasking. I easily relate.
At first I thought dinosaur would end up in either the sauce– yum yum, growl growl :)). I used to think doing 3 or 4 different things at a time was a skill to be mastered. I changed my belief. Now I work hard to do one thing at a time. It’s not easy. I’m motivated to practice because I believe true presence is my grandest gift (to myself and others). Thanks for reminding me why I practice. xo
Susan I love that “true presence is my grandest gift”. I have entered you in to my quote book, thanks as always for loving my work. Now wonder if we should have dinosaur for dinner.
Your words absolutely speak to me! I’ve recently made a concerted effort to live a less distracted life. It’s hard..especially with an online job. I’m constantly reminding myself that I can’t ever get a previous day back. And little ones have a way of reminding me that being present in the moment is the best thing that I can give them. I think it’s especially hard as a mom NOT to multi task and realistically I know that somedays will be better than others. Thanks for the very important reminder. xx
Monica working online and at home while having children is an enormous challenge. The distractions are endless and the works is always there. I wrote this post as a big reminder to myself of the multitasking mess I can create.
I struggle with the same thing.I constantly have to remind myself to slow down and be present in the moment.
Ann it is an ongoing challenge to remain present in the face of endless tasks and to dos.
Thank you for the wonderful reminder to not only not multitask but that we are short changing the ones around us and ourselves of moments to be captured and cherished. I fall victim too often of multitasking and my kids/family are suffering because of it. I now think, what am I teaching them? That it is okay to only half pay attention to others? Oh, I must change my ways. Thank you! Beautifully written too.
Julie thank you enormously. In our haste to get it all done we often don’t realise we are no longer fully in the moment.
So when did you move into my house and my life? This was me not so long ago. Now that my two have grown and somewhat flown I am less of a multitasker. In fact, some days I wonder how I did it all. Back then though I wasn’t really aware of the business – I just basically ploughed through. Interesting – I was aware of other’s business. Case in point – the bookclub friend who revealed she reads two books at one time AS she’s brushing her teeth. Oh my.
No way, two books while brushing teeth. Dazzling.
This was a good read today. I used to be a ‘multi-tasker’, I use to thrive on it. Like you, I thought it was a super human quality. In recent times I’ve given up the desire for it, as you’ve said you do short change yourself and the people around you. I also find that when I focus on one thing, it comes out a whole lot better in the end. I prefer this method, do one thing, be done with it fully and then move on to something else.
Tami you are as very wise woman. Things do turn out so much better when we have one focus at a time. I am still battling my urges.
So true! Most of the time I feel like we have no choice but to try to keep all of the balls in the air – but sometimes you HAVE to take a step back…
Teri when I drop the balls the guilt hits hard and then we pull it together and all is somehow okay.
I usually think of myself as a decent multi-tasker, but sometimes you just cannot do it all. Spreading myself too thin usually has a downward spiral effect. It’s so hard to take a step back, but sometimes very necessary!
Kristan yes it is amazing how thin we can get at times.
Karen, I loved reading this! Not only because I’m a multi-tasker, too (who somehow escaped the multi-task monster while reading your post) but because your writing is crisp and hilarious! Thanks for sharing this cross-section of your life. It sounds like my life sometimes (though my kids are canine, and if they’re missing a dinosaur toy, it’s because they ate it). Looking forward to reading more from you.
Oh Harmony thank you for that amazingly glorious compliment. I adore writing and it thrills me to know my craft is enjoyed.
I fall into this multi-tasking trap all the time. And like you, in the end things seem to only get done half way. So I would get frustrated and really start to focus on doing just one thing at a time. But then tasks and projects would start to pile up and I feel like I am forced to multi-task. Thus leading to a nasty little cycle. So trying to find a balance is something I definitely need to work on.
Stopping by from SITSSHarefest. 🙂
Christina I hear you loud and clear. I am now lessening the load, less to dos when i can. Deciding if I need to multi task to get it all done maybe I am doing too much.
Yes! I agree 100%. In yoga, we try to seek “ekagrata,” or a “one-pointed mind” with focus and presence of the moment. I swear this is the key to doing great work.
Found you via SITSSharefest btw.
Renae I am sure “ekagrata” is the key to awesome stuff.
Ok…you have been spying on me! I seriously have been trying to come to a screeching halt of my lifelong habit of multi-tasking. Getting older! Little more tired! Noticed some lack of focus! (I will deny any of this if publicly challenged!!)
My teaching job requires multi-tasking but I’ve eliminated it at home. Time will tell if an old dig can be taught a new trick!
Ruth you sound very youthful and eliminating the multi tasking at home sounds wonderful. Now can this old dig learn that same trick.
One of my fave of your posts, Karen. xo Had to comment again. And oh yes, dinosaur for dinner–that means a character at each plate.
Susan you are so lovely, come by for dinosaur anytime.
I think Mom’s tend to multitask more just to keep up with the children. I used to multitask a lot, but am paying attention more to doing the most important thing first. I enjoyed your writing. 🙂
Cindy
Thanks Cindy, yes one thing at a time. Sounds easy doesn’t it?
I can totally relate to your post! I’m also a multitasker.. so much so that any time my cooking is burnt, my husband’s response is ‘were you multi-tasking?’.. Even as I’m leaving you a comment, I’m switching between multiple tabs on my browser lol. I know it’s much more efficient to focus and complete one thing than multitask on many things, but I find it hard to stop..
Mayan many of us find it hard to stop even when we realise it isn’t working very well for us. Good Luck with dinner
I tend to do the same thing too. Sometimes I don’t even hear my poor husband talking to me because I’m too busy doing other things! I feel so bad once I realize what’s happened.
Tiffany yes we miss so much going on around us when we are lost in multitasking. I tell my husband now when i have too many things going on and he is talking.
I feel as if I was sitting in your house… or you precisely described my own house but instead of the dinosaur my young teens are looking for their favorite Lululemon shirt or charger or form for school. Sounds like you are an awesome parent… I just want to give you a hug.
Debbie thank you and sending a hug right back to you. To be a fly on the wall in our own home sometimes would be very interesting
What a great article. We talked about this subject quite a bit in my membership group this past month. We actually lose IQ points when we multitask and are not able to be fully present in any moment…which is very sad. I shared your post in the group…I hope you don’t mind 🙂
Michele thank you so much for sharing this, I don’t mind at all I am thrilled in fact. Wow we lose IQ when we multitask, time to give it up for sure.
Hmm… good point. I’ve always thought of it as a strength, but there is something to be said for what my yoga loving friends call “living in the moment” – not so good at that. Might be time to slow down a bit, myself. Thanks for sharing.
Carrie, I too thought of it as a strength and then one day I realised how much I was dividing my attention. Living in the moment sounds awesome.
It really doesn’t work for me–at least not anymore. I think I used to be much better at it but now? Not so sure. I really need to focus. I loved this post. Thanks for your honesty. 🙂
Thanks Shannon, multitasking seems clever and yet when we think about it we are only dividing our attention.
Aren’t all Mums multitaskers? If we weren’t we wouldn’t get anything done and at least when we slip up, as we invariably do, we always have a story to tell and things to laugh about.
Now my children are older I don’t find myself multitasking so often, but I still do the ironing or the washing whilst cooking the dinner, it makes sense and is time saving. Or I find myself thinking about what I have to do next before I’ve finished what I am doing now, which does annoy me a bit, but I can’t seem to help it.
Debbie I do think all Mums are multitasksers and often do not even realise how many tasks we have on the go at once.
Very valid point Karen, I often do the same thing. Trying to do too many things at once and in the end not saving any time but rather wasting time because nothing ends up being done properly.
Thanks for your ever inspiring posts!