Multi-task no more!

Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease. ~Lisa Alther



One of the reasons it is so hard for me to be productive (other than I am exhausted) is that I have mastered the skill of multi-tasking. Some say that women are natural instinctive multi-taskers and we notice it more when our children are born. We can breastfeed a baby while typing on the computer and mentally making the grocery list. We know who needs to be where and when and we manage to always get the seasonally appropriate clothing in the drawers every few months in the right sizes – while remembering birthdays, anniversaries, school book fairs and the latest budget projections at work. Now, studies are showing that multi-tasking does not actually make you work faster or save time – that it is often better to concentrate on the task at hand.


My three children are getting older and their schedules are getting more complicated and hectic. I hear this is just the beginning of years of “running around” juggling activities. My business is getting busier (a good thing, yes) but I now find myself forgetting a lot of things that I used to be able to keep in my head. Not to mention that my brain is also aging. So, I quickly made my way back to David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” or GTD.

I will not profess to be an expert on GTD but I do know that there are a few key tips that can be applied by anyone to make their life more productive. One of the greatest lessons for me has been the “capture” of information/data in a centralized place (or inbox) other than in *my* head. Think of all the information bullets you dodge each hour of the day – emails, voicemails, school reminder notes, invitations, camp forms, reference materials, newspaper articles (that you hope to read one day), bills, receipts, recipes, hotel confirmation number – the list is endless and it never ends!


So – the first step is to get it all out of your head. All the "stuff" that is clogging up your brain trying to remember. Write down everything that you are thinking about – things you need to do now or later or maybe even some day. Things you need to find a place for or get rid of. Things you are worried about forgetting. DA calls it “brainstorming”. My list includes things like send boys birthday invite, get plane tickets for business trip next week, purchase additional smoke detector, purchase mulch, deposit check, update work website, update marketing list, go back to Ireland……see, it’s everything.


Put it all down. Clear your mind. I am going to work on generating that list tonight and hope to get a restful night of sleep. I’ll check back with the next step.

Care to join me?