Multitasking
Multitasking
Multitasking
Multi-Tasking Why Women Were Born To Do It, Even During Our Sickest Times
The other day I saw a fantastic photo online as part of a story on multi-tasking. It was in a "plush" bathroom, and the toilet had a black leather seat and back to it. Surrounding the toilet was a computer monitor and keyboard, phone, fax machine, and other electronic gadgets. Obviously, a picture of multi-tasking at its finest! The picture got me thinking about all of the multi-tasking that we women do in our daily lives, and how many times we do it inertly. It's not something we learned by taking a course on or reading a manual. It's just something we doand sometimes take for granted the fact that it does come naturally.
When I was sick in the hospital for about seven weeks, battling the side effects of years of surgeries and hospital stays for my colon cancer, my husband learned how to multi-task. He had to. I was down for the count, and he had to take over in order for me to get better. At that time, our son was two, we were running businesses and had dogs to take care of, and everything else about daily life continued to go on and had to be managed despite battling with the consequences of a catastrophic childhood illness. What I found most interesting, though, was that what came naturally to me was a struggle for him. I'm not sure why. Some experts claim that it's the way a woman's brain is wired compared to a man. Others say it's because in Neanderthal days, the men did the hunting and fishingmanly "stuff"while the women, nurtured, cared for, and took care of the home.
So when I was sick, I had to let someone else take care of the multi-tasking. But what if you're the multi-tasker? What if you're the one having to juggle everything at onceplus take care of a sick child? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- It's okay to have a lot going on simultaneously, but make sure you only focus on one of those things at a time.
- If you have a task that is intense, let people know that you must have an hour or two of quiet time to devote to this one task, and then let folks know you'll juggle the rest after your task is complete. You'll need the focus, and you won't be able to do more than one thing at a time.
- Make sure the tasks you're tackling have a specific goal attached to them. Doing things for the sake of doing them is a waste of time. Accomplishing items that are goal-oriented make more sense.
- Eliminate the stuff that isn't necessary. This means saying no to things or pushing some tasks to the backburner. That's okay. Successful multi-tasking means you're accomplishing those tasks that continue to move you forward.
Luckily, most of this comes naturally. But when you're feeling a bit overwhelmed about all the tasks you do need to accomplish, including taking care of and advocating for your sick child, step back and re-assess what must be done versus what can wait. Then tackle those tasks that are most important.
About the Author
When Alesia Shute was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 7, her life was redirected as was that of her entire family. She would go on to survive six major surgeries that had never been tested on a child, several minor surgeries and countless hours of pain and months of hospitalization. Alesia had to grow up quickly and adjust to being sickly and different from others. Everything's Okay is her story of survival that details not only her recovery, but also her struggles through school, boys, marriage, and pregnancy, with some hilarious tales of life and family to boot.
Contact Alesia directly at Alesia@EverythingsOkayBook.com.
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