It has been said that “mothers” are very good at multitasking. As a single mother who has raised six children, I could see this in one sense. Yet also as a single mother who has raised her six children, I think I would describe it better as “juggling” not “multitasking”.
Personally for me, I learned a while back through various trainings and seminars, that multitasking never really accomplishes as much as one would think.
Let us first define multitasking: doing more than one thing at a time, not giving complete focus to any one thing.
You may have had some of these days…
You start out going to work on “this” when all of a sudden “that” happens. You find yourself attempting to handle “multiple” things at one time (multitasking). This call came in. The boss stopped by. Your co-worker needs (or thinks they need) your input “right now”. The doctor’s office called. You left something important on the desk at home. Want to rework it from memory. Maybe call home, have someone send a text with a picture of it. The pens leaked all over your hard work, your project. You accidentally hit the delete button. You get to where you are headed and realize the device that the project is on isn’t charged up. Suddenly there are so many “things to handle” all at one time. Your FOCUS and possibly frustration is all over the place. All due to attempting to “multitask”.
Or maybe “LIFE” has come along and you have too many “irons” in the fire and all at the same time. You might even have a desire to handle them all at one time. This is NOT very effective. I am speaking from personal experience.
Believe it or not, both of these scenario’s can be handled in the same way…
FOCUS — You want to put your Focus on the most important (what is important to you!!!) task, then work down your “list”. Which situation requires your immediate attention? Which one is the “top priority” of the moment, the situation, or the day? These can very — Easiest to handle, Fastest to handle, When can it get on the schedule, or Order of importance.
This list is the one I use the most when LIFE hits me from every direction and seems to NOT disappear. I first want to handle the easiest task and get it off my list. Sometimes that task is not only the easiest yet also the fastest one to handle. Once I have done that, I then look at what “needs” to get onto the schedule first; according to the date/time that it is to be completed. Honestly, this is my Order of Importance. Unless of course there happens to be an emergency that requires my utmost immediate attention (thankfully these do not occur very often).
Only you can decide in which order would work out the best for you and your family/work/business. Only You Can Decide That. When you make these decisions you will then be able to establish your action plan. Please remember to give yourself and your life “Grace” when you have to make adjustments due to “others” schedules. Sometimes one needs to shift a few things around due to the help/input of others when “LIFE” happens to them.
Sometimes having a “plan a” and a “plan b” is a good idea as well. There is a saying that I adopted long ago in my life: “Prepare for the worst and pray for the best”. This is not to be taken in a negative way. It is to be taken in a way that allows you to be ready for any changes in your day that may come and still yet accomplish the project or projects on hand.
Here are a few things that I do to help with “reducing the multitasking”. I start actually the evening before. I gather all the things that I will need or think I will need for the next days schedule. Gather paperwork (each project has it’s own backpack or laptop bag), make a snack, pack a lunch, charge all my devices the night before (even if it is at only 58%), set out my clothes for the next day, prep for the morning hot tea, make sure that my purse and laptop bag have everything in them (pens, paper, chargers, projects, book to read during downtime, Sudoku puzzle book, etc). I also take time to fill the family in on all that I have scheduled for the next day. To include what times they should or should not be calling me, unless of course it is an emergency.
The day of: Unless I am expecting a call from someone or if the family calls (when I am not busy), all my calls go directly to voicemail. I will get to them when I get to them. Honestly, sometimes it isn’t for a couple days. (What can I say, I am a busy beaver with lots of projects that I am “juggling” all at one time, based on the help I can get and when I can get it). I do answer the calls that come in from those who I am to meet up with that day, as sometimes we have to reschedule: due to “LIFE” happening or other meetings running late. Personally I have a knack of being too focused sometimes (according to some anyway). What can I say, I can work hard, yet I also know how to play hard!
What happens when the day may get rearranged you ask? Well that is when I make some other phone calls and work on rearranging things for that week. When I call, I let the person know that my schedule has been rearranged and I have an opening. I ask them if they are available to change our original time. I have found more times than not, they don’t mind meeting sooner. They have lives as well and something may have come up that rearranging the original meeting will benefit them. You won’t know, unless you ask. So, why not ask?
You may be asking, “do these steps really help or make a difference?”.
Yes actually, they do make a difference. It definitely helps in the area of NOT leaving things behind. It definitely keeps the unnecessary phone calls from home (and friends) at bay. Actually there are some times that I go ahead and load it all up the night before as a reminder to me that I have already put it all together. This helps especially if something happens and you wake up late or get out the door late.
I call it: Prep Work. There is a lot that one can do if one just takes the time to “Prep” for the day. Let’s face it sometimes “LIFE just happens”. Make sure the basics are covered, the family is informed, and everything is in one location (usually already in your vehicle the night before is best).
Remember the goal here is to give complete focus to ONE THING at a time. I have found “prep work” to be the key for me in helping to reduce multitasking. For our family, the most important “prep work” is keeping everyone informed as to the next day’s schedule!