Multi-tasking the moments of our lives
I had something reinforced this morning that intellectually I’ve known for a long time. Muti-tasking has its time and place but is NOT always a good idea. Rather than saving us time (and who really can “save” time???) it can 1) increase our stress level 2) set us back an hours or two (see my home page regarding “lazy man’s load” this morning 3) result in less than stellar results. The jobs may all be done but did you take time to get any enjoyment out of the time you spent doing them? Were the results ones you would be happy to put your name on or own up to? Will part of what you did have to be done over because you did it just well enough to get by for the short term or because you missed something?
The older I get the more I realize how important it is to be in the moment, even if its just folding sheets or making copies of some notes I’ve taken. Now you are probably thinking that head cold has turned this lady’s brain to mush. Nope. I want to make a point here.
Life is full of things we HAVE to do and it seems relatively short on those things we “enjoy” doing. What if we could balance that a little?
Go back to my folding sheets example. No one likes to fold sheets, especially the ones with fitted corners – really annoying – to the point its easier sometimes to just wash/dry them and put them right back on the bed. But lets say you actually have two sets of sheets and need to put one away. I find myself dumping the sheets/clothes from the dryer in a basket, hauling it upstairs, folding them haphazardly while trying to remember who I was supposed to call back, what errands I need to run when I go out next hour, what I’m going to write about, and at the same time texting someone who wants to rent the cabin. I’ve just missed an opportunity to get some pleasure out of a mundane task – the sheets were warm and smelled good coming out of the dryer. We are sensory beings and miss so many opportunities to feed our senses and use the opportunity to de-stress. If you are my age or even a little younger you may remember helping your mother or grandmother hang sheets on the clothes line outside to dry. Remember the smell and the feel? The sunshine in your face? The grass under your bare feet? Your grandmother’s apron with the pockets? All these memories can, if we take the time, come flooding back, and release endorphins in our body that can decrease our stress and increase our sense of well being. This is just one small example.
Everything we do is worth our attention. As we try to wrestle all of our tasks into a compact, neat, efficient package we are increasing our stress and missing the opportunities to live in the moments of our lives. Just for today – Try it ! You might like it.