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Focus? What’s that…?
By Betsy Richter | 10:40 amThis morning’s internal debate: Do I suffer from a terminal inability to settle down and complete one single task from start to finish – or am I just a multi-tasker extraordinaire who loves to pile on the tasks?
You be the judge.
I sat down at the computer this morning to check email, drop in on a couple of blogfeeds, and contemplate my day. It’s a cold, rainy morning here in Portland – the perfect time to attack some projects on the to-do list, pop something in the crockpot for dinner, and settle down in my ratty old t-shirt and slippers for some much needed nesting.
Or so went the mental dialogue I was having with myself in my head, that is…
But, wait! Drama Mama has hebrew and shabbat school this afternoon – so maybe I should run those errands and do that grocery shopping since I need to go out anyway. We’re out of bread, right?
Right. But I also have yeast. And flour. And I’ve been dying to bake some bread lately. So maybe I should throw together some dough to rise first before tackling Project Number One. Which I’ll only get 1/4th through. And then I’ll run errands. And then bake some bread. And…
See the problem?
I was continuing that pesky mental dialogue when I realized that I hadn’t had coffee yet. So I headed into the kitchen to make myself a cup (yep, I’m still doing the cold brew thing.) Filled a large mug half-full of water, put it in the microwave for two minutes. Decided to take some Sudafed to fight off the brewing sinus beasts, remembered I’d left a glass of water on my dresser. Retrieved it, plus one other glass while I was at it, circled back to the kitchen to deposit both and swallow pill. Realize my feet are cold, head back over to desk area to retrieve slippers, pick up stray garbag-ey items off the floor and throw them away while I’m at it. Oh, hey – there’s some paper that needs to be recycled. So I deposit same in the paper recycling bag in the kitchen as I head back to retrieve the cup of now-hot water.
I add in some coffee concentrate from the refrigerator (grabbing and throwing away a food item in there that now has to be bad while I’m at it), and pop it back into the microwave for another minute. Just enough time for a freezer inspection – but on second thought, I should leave the pre-prepped and easy stuff for a workday meal, right? Right.
Still don’t see the problem? Well, I do.
In the three minutes it took to make coffee, I could have focused on one thing – say, the pile of dishes that needed attention. Or my desk area, which also needs attention. Or the kitchen (NA), bedroom (NA) or any one of a number of things around this house that desperately Need Attention.
And I want to bake bread???
On second thought, please don’t be the judge. I’m pretty sure I know what the verdict is.
I also fear that I’m sentenced for life.
But in the meantime – would anyone like some fresh-baked bread?
Topics: Boss Lady | 3 Comments »
October 20th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I want fresh baked bread and have all that I need to do it . . . well, everything except a clean kitchen. My reward when it’s done will be just that bread baking and refilling the hummingbird feeders. I think they’d appreciate that, don’t you? Sigh. It never ends. I don’t know what your “problem” is but I’m pretty sure that I have it too. And, I’m pretty sure that part of the problem is buying into the idea that we have to do it all . . . When did it go from you can do anything to you must do everything!
October 21st, 2007 at 10:20 am
Have you always been this way or has having kids made it worse? I call it Adult Onset ADD and that’s my life!
October 24th, 2007 at 8:47 am
You sound just like me! Actually you are better than me. I sit at my desk and think, I should do laundry, dishes, dust, yada yada and keep sitting. At least you pick up garbage along the way, and throw out bad fridge food.