Multi-Tasking......

I quit.

I'm done.

I'm giving up on multi-tasking.

For years now (too many to count) I have been making myself crazy trying to do too many things at once. I'm taking a break. I don't want to cook dinner, watch the kids, help with homework, do laundry, bake cookies, clean out the car and check my e-mail all at the same time. Not anymore. I want to simplify......I want to do just one thing at a time. It's a new concept, I know, and for years I was like the Cat in the Hat....balancing kids, chores, husband, church, friends, etc., never having time for me, and if you've read the Cat in the Hat lately, you'll remember that it ended badly for him.

Look at me!

Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun

But you have to know how!

I can hold up the cup

And the milk and the cake!

I can hold up these books!
And the fish on a rake!

I can hold the toy ship

And a little toy man!

And look!

With my tail, I can hold a red fan!

I can fan with the fan,

As I hop on the ball!

But that is not all.

Oh, no.That is not all...

That is what the cat said...

Then he fell on his head!

He came down with a bump

From up there on the ball

And Sally and I
We saw all the things fall!

I don't want to fall on my head!! I haven't dropped everything yet, but I have dropped a couple of things, and lately it seems like some things are more precariously balanced. So, I've decided that I'm not taking any chances.

Starting today I will do ONE THING AT A TIME! I will carefully and thoughtfully put everything down. (we don't want to break anything, you know!) Then I will carefully and thoughtfully pick up one thing, deal with it (clean it, cook it, wash it, answer it, help it, read it, etc.), put it down, then pick up another.

Who knows, maybe I'll be more relaxed, maybe I'll be more productive, maybe some things won't get done at all (the horror!), or maybe someone else will do them. Maybe, just maybe, some things don't even need doing! I'm more relaxed just thinking about it!

I realize that it won't be easy. It is, after all, an untested theory.....I don't honestly know if it's possible to do only one thing at a time. I may have to organize my time better. I may have to delegate some tasks, I may even have to say 'no' sometimes. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes. (I wonder if I could call it a study and get a government grant for research. Say, maybe a 10 year study of productivity?)

Please feel free to pick up my slack.....if you'd like to make dinner for my family one night a week so I can finish the latest Robin Cook novel, or if you'd like to paint my bathroom while I play Candyland with Sabian.....any and all help will be accepted and appreciated.

So, here's to the new me....next time you call, be assured that you will have my undivided attention. Unless someone else already has it.