Business Wife & Life

I like to multitask. In fact, I call myself the Queen of Multitasking. But lately I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’ve just jumped from being a mom of one to a mom of two, I have a lot of household projects to complete, I have several work projects going on, and things have just been very crazy.

I received some advice that I’ve been repeating to myself daily….”one at a time”. How simple yet profound!

When the baby is crying, the clothes need drying, documents need typing, and I’m trying to finishing skyping….one at a time. When dinner needs cooking, the house is dirty-looking, a client wants me facebooking….just one at a time.

Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and do one thing at a time. Don’t panic, don’t get overwhelmed, just relax and don’t focus on every single task on your list. Focus on one thing at a time and things will flow much easier.

By the way, you can thank my sleep deprivation for that little impromptu poem.

There are all kinds of fancy mind mapping tools, organization apps, and other technologies that are supposed to increase our productivity and keep us organized- but do we really need them?

I’ve tried the mind mapping software, and it’s left me confused. I’ve tried a few organization apps, but I can never remember to use them. Now I’ll admit, there are a few tools that I find quite handy. But really, what I need in my life is a notebook and a sturdy binder. Every time I try something else, I come back to this good old strategy.

With my notebook I can write down ideas as they come to me. I can keep track of any usernames and passwords that I need on a regular basis. I can map out my to-do lists in a simple fashion. And I can access all of this without trying to recall where I stored the information, and how to log on.

My binder is useful because it contains my notebook. It also contains articles of interest and other things that I might want to print out and save for later. The pockets in my binder are handy for storing random pieces of paper that I sometimes need.

Technology is great, but sometimes you just have to keep it simple. Buy a notebook, buy a binder and you just might notice an increase in organization and productivity.

I have a lot of things going on in my life and sometimes there’s not enough time in the day if I want to do things like eat and sleep. One of the best tools I have available is the ability to kill two birds with one stone.

For example, I like to take time to pray and make notes in a gratitude journal. I also try to study Spanish for a couple of hours each day. So I write the journal entries in Spanish- and what do you know, I have accomplished two things with one action.

It doesn’t end there. I also like to listen to an audio course, but I have to exercise. *Voila* Pop in an exercise tape and put on the iPod. But sometimes that doesn’t cut it because I need to play with the baby, exercise, and listen to my audio course- So I take the baby for a walk while wearing my iPod. So my thighs are getting smaller, the baby is getting fresh air, and I’m getting my course out of the way.

Oh that is too simple! What else.

I have reading to do for my herbal medicine class. But the baby still isn’t asleep. So I read aloud to the baby. *Bam* Two birds, one stone. Actually three because I like the idea of reading educational materials to my little Peanut.

This doesn’t work for everything. Do not try to give your baby a bath while having a conference call on speakerphone. Sometimes you really have to focus on one thing without trying to take shortcuts. But if you can swing it, go ahead and knock out those birds with one stone.