Multi-tasking

This book is a hot item right now.  Every homeschool mama I know has it on their "to read" list.  The title does sound wonderful doesn't it?  It's a quick read but my first time through I was a little disappointed.  I expected lightening bolt, life changing information.  It was a subtle book of reminders though.

I write down important things (verses, notes from books I'm reading etc,)  in a journal and learned (from this book) that this is called a commonplace book.  I couldn't find my commonplace book to take notes the first time I read it but after I found it wanted to jot some things down.  I ended up rereading it and wrote down a lot.  I needed to read it a second time and let some things sink in.

One good takeaway from this book changed the way I view multitasking.  Moms are good at this and I've always taken pride in the fact that I can do it.  (The mistaken goal in life being to get lots done and if you're doing several things at once you're getting more done.) The author Sarah Mackenzie says this, "What we usually think of as multi-tasking is actually task switching and it's ineffective and inefficient."  When I truly thought about it, I did have that lightening bolt moment.  Multi-tasking is stressful to me.  I may try to respond to an email, answer a kid question, and cook the pasta for dinner all at once but it can't really be done.  I end up switching back and forth between things, not giving any of them my full attention.

My kids deserve my full attention.  Everything we do deserves our full attention.  Colossions 3:23  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  It's only been a few days since I've thrown multi-tasking out the window and I already feel more at peace.  Whatever I'm doing, I'm trying to do it well.  That means asking my kids to wait a second, then stopping and actually looking at them.  It means I have to prioritize and say "no" sometimes.  And it means I will probably burn the garlic bread less because if my job at that second is to make garlic bread, I can hang on for the 2 minutes and 30 seconds that it takes to broil.  I do not need to squeeze another task into that little window of time.

This year I've been on a mission to cease striving, trim down the extras, and give life extra margin.  White space or margin is the extra room on the paper that makes it easier to read.  So much of life now is about having every single minute filled up.  We need that white space in life though too.  Relationships and people are more important than getting lots done or checking things off the "to do" list.  There is ALWAYS going to be a big "to do" list.  As a stay-at-home mom it's discouraging because everything I do, I turn around and do again tomorrow.  Sometimes I need to set the list aside.  Instead of being hurried and harried because I'm doing too many things at once, I'm going to embrace this shift in my view of multi-tasking.  So far I feel like I'm getting just as many things accomplished yet doing a better job at them.  My kids are learning patience as they wait their turn for mom, and I feel more at peace.  I am learning patience too.

I would encourage you to read this book.  Take your time through it and let it soak in.  Cease striving.  "It is our part to offer what we can, His to finish what we cannot."  St. Jerome.