As a stay-at-home mom, I find myself continually trying to maximize my time. I think, "OK, I have to get frozen chicken and peas out of the freezer in the garage, so I better bring the empty jars out there since I'm going." Then when I get out there, I notice that the floor needs to be swept, and think, "It will be faster for me to just sweep it now." Then I remember that the front porch (a couple pallets with plywood on top) also needs to be swept, so I sweep that knowing that it is more efficient step-wise than having to come back that way later. I remember reading about this before. A lady was cleaning her house and got distracted with new projects and areas to clean at every turn and she never completed the task that she started out doing. I've done this. Many times. I have traced this behavior back to the high school year that I had bunion surgery on one of my feet. My bedroom was downstairs and I learned quickly that I needed to take advantage of each step with my crutches to minimize backtracking.
This behavior also emerges in trying to do as many things as possible at the same time. In reality, probably nothing is getting done as well as if I had focused on one task at a time. I'm sure there is a diagnosis floating around that would identify what this drive inside me is. Anyway, I better get going to start planting grass seeds on our new lawn...and whatever else I notice along the way!
By the way, I'm having to peck away with one hand to type this because I am feeding my son and eating breakfast at the same time.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
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1 comment:
Yes, sometimes I feel like giving up before I start. :-)
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