I have an announcement! Get ready to have your minds blown. (Side note: did anyone just do the fist-bomb exploding by your head thing? No? Oh, umm, never mind then.) So, here it goes. I have mastered multitasking. You heard me correctly; I can do more than one thing at the same time. Right now I am typing, drinking coffee and making a grocery list as things come to me. That, my friends, right there, is three things at once. And my husband says I don’t use my time wisely! (Not a jab at my dear husband, I promise. It was most definitely a serious comment the first time he said it, but now it’s more of a loving joke…at least I think it is. By the way, check out his video about time/self management!) One last thing, non-multitasking is an art as well…you’ll see.
So, back to multitasking…
Here are a few specific examples to show just how good I’ve gotten at this skill.
- I can drink coffee, scroll through Facebook, cuddle with my youngest and remind my oldest of the things she needs to do before school every morning…and I’m talking every morning. (Edit: this was when school was, like, a leave-the-house-and-go-somewhere type of thing.)
- I can talk to a friend on the phone while making my kids’ lunch and answering their sixteen questions about planets and glue.
- I can oversee schoolwork time while also preparing a meal and sweeping the floor, which is covered with crumbs because I have a 5 year old.
- I can listen to my daughter read, and be able to ask her questions about what she’s reading, while I snuggle with my son and answer his questions about super important things, like: Why is it night time? and Why do fish swim?
- I can put on my socks, shoes and tie my them while I have a last minute bathroom break before getting on the treadmill. (Too much? My bad.)
- I can play UNO with my kids while also consuming an adult beverage. (Don’t judge me.)
- I can also type a blog post while laughing to myself about how I just created a list of “I can…” statements just like I was groomed to do in one of my professional development lectures as a paid teacher. If you’re a teacher, please tell me you’re giggling a little bit, too!
This is how I multitask
These are just a few examples of me prudently using my time. There are so many, many more, as I’m clearly a rock star at multitasking. Ask my kids…maybe not my husband…but either kid, yes, ask away. After you answer their twenty-three questions about what multitasking is, you’ll more than likely forget what you were even asking them. However, if you make it to their response, I’m sure you’ll approve of the answer.
Multitasking is not a skill for all…
Now, everyone has faults, it’s only human! So, when a MomSoldier does not succeed in the area of multitasking, there should be zero judgement. I mean, I know I said I could do it, and I think I have proved with my examples that it’s more than possible, but sometimes I simply just don’t want to. Call me crazy, but sometimes, just sometimes, MomSoldiers want to do one thing.
Here are my trusty examples of non-multitasking (yep, that’s a thing now):
- Drink my coffee while it’s hot. (I have accomplished this often lately, but it takes dedication, don’t be fooled.)
- Aimlessly scroll through FB and Instagram. (Just let me.)
- Eat food. (For the love of all things delicious, let me eat in peace!)
- Spend time with my family. (This one is easy…thank you Coronavirus.)
- Watch a movie or show without interruption. (This includes, but is not limited to, while I am working out. I should be “allowed” television viewing times, amIright?)
- Last but not least, drink my coffee. (Did I already say that one? Oops.)
You get the point. This MomSoldier is well aware that she can effectively multitask, so STOP MAKING ME PROVE IT! Whoa. I don’t even know at whom I’m yelling. Myself? My husband? Could go either way, but the more I think about it, I think it’s me…I’m yelling at me. I’m the one who is forcing myself to do so much at one time because there is always SO much to do. Then again, is that my (or anyone’s, really) fault?
Is multitasking even the answer?
Maybe it’s in my head, but I feel like there’s always something that could be done. Laundry, dishes, prep for homeschooling, working out, cleaning…the list goes on and on. It’s as if I can’t allow myself to only do one thing because it’s a waste of time. Hmph. Interesting…full circle. Mind blown…again. However, in reality, multitasking isn’t always the answer. Can we really expect to produce quality things if we aren’t fully committed to and concentrating on that one thing? I really don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that, as a mom, it’s hard to non-multitask!
When multitasking wears us out…let’s try to non-multitasking.
How may of you are busy, working (at home or not) parents who find it hard to carve out time to really concentrate on one, specific thing? As parents, we often try to do it all, and its hard to make a change. This method of continually multitasking can burn us out and lead to more problems than we imagined possible. This is getting serious, I know. Even so, I find it important to mention that while I can, indeed, multitask with the best of them, it’s not always the answer!
Do you want more time to non-multitask?
Would you like more time so you don’t have to multitask anymore? Check this link out and find out how you can create more time to concentrate on one thing at a time. You can finally have the time to non-multitask and not feel guilty about any of it! That’s a lot of times to used the word time, but trust me, it’s possible. Just like it’s possible for me to continue giving my son positive affirmations as he announces to me that he’s added yet another set of numbers on his page of 25 number sentences while he’s also playing “the floor is lava” with pillow islands. Wait a minute…is he multitasking, too?
