NOTE TO SELF: Multitasking is stupid!

To Do list available here

I pride myself on being a master multi-tasker, able to juggle 12 balls at once without dropping a single one. But I’m slowly realizing this skill is not necessarily the most ideal when it comes to managing daily life and really getting things done. My daily habit is to set up a To Do list a mile long and eventually go to bed disappointed if I’m only able to get half that mile covered. Preposterous! I now realize that multitasking is what got me into this hole in the first place. It’s far better to focus on one thing at a time and perfect it before moving onto the next instead of always wondering if there was something I could have done just a little bit better had I not been trying to do so many things at once. I used to think I had trouble committing to things (bright ideas, learning a new skill, a new exercise program, etc.), but I’m slowly realizing that commitment is not my issue. The ability to focus is my issue. I get so easily distracted by the next new thing that I quickly chuck the old one and dive right into the new one without giving it much thought. For a fly-by-night kind of person or situation, this may not be a big deal, but for a person like me, when this type of thinking leaves me feeling like I have a ton of things “undone”, it grates my nerves!

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In recently feeling inundated by life, I came to this startling realization about myself. Some of you may be able to relate and some may not, but either way, I wanted to document it here so I can reflect back on it just in case I catch myself feeling the same way in the future. (This is MY blog after all, right?)

These are the steps I intend to take to make this new thought process much easier on myself.
1) Follow through. I’m learning that it’s important to follow through, even though that initial excitement and fervor may have long disappeared.
2) Water my seeds. I am never without the next bright idea floating around in my head, but instead of immediately jumping to register that business name or purchase the domain (which I’ve done prematurely on more than one occasion) I’ve decided to focus on my business(es) at hand and really nurture them to their greatest potential.
3) Priorities, people! A more reasonable work-life balance is achieved when we prioritize. My time is valuable and I’d most prefer to spend it with my family. If an opportunity takes away from that, it has to really be worth my time and energy. And if it isn’t, I have to be strong enough to let it go.
4) One bite at a time. It’s pretty typical for me to become paralyzed by the sheer volume of things needing my attention. Instead of wading through the mess one chunk at a time, I completely freeze and ignore it all for a day or two, which (you guessed it) makes even more of a mess of my infamous To Do list. When I find myself in these situations, I remember the old adage, “QUESTION: What’s the best way to eat an elephant? ANSWER: One bite at a time.”  This reminds me to never take on more than I can handle and to tackle life one step at a time.
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Hopefully this bit of insight can help someone besides me!