Multi-Tasking No More
It's Fall, my favorite season. The weather has gone from muggy to brisk. There is a new year feeling as I make plans for new ventures and organize my calendar. But this year I am changing gears, becoming more deliberate, actually slowing down in the hopes of making multi-tasking a thing of the past.
This change of attitude occurred after a recent trip to Chicago. I was asked to speak in Rockford, Illinois and jumped at the chance because it meant I could visit two of my grandsons. But before I knew it, I had squeezed in a speech at Harvard, followed by lunch with a friend, the flight to O'Hare, an overnight with the boys, a visit to their school, and finally, the speech for 300 followed by another overnight with family. Phew! Too much!
I arrived home exhausted and tense, but most of all disappointed that I had rushed through so many moments. Oh, I was there in body but not in spirit. Subsequently, I felt cheated and ashamed of myself for trying so hard and receiving so little in return, emotionally that is, not to mention giving a mediocre speech. Wearing five or six hats, although once typical for me, seemed no longer possible.
Busy is one thing and being truly involved is another. The latter, according to Webster's dictionary means really engaging, participating with others and having an emotional connection. Being busy, on the other hand, is just that...going through the motions as you try to accomplish too much on your "to do" list and not having a meaningful experience in the process.
I own a mug which sits on my desk to hold my pencils and pens. It has always amused me. There is a picture of a woman sitting at a cluttered desk, file drawer open, trash can overflowing, talking on a phone propped on her shoulder as she types something hastily into the computer. Emblazoned underneath are the words: Please I can only do 17 things at a time. Well, no longer. I have concluded I can only do one thing well.
It comes down to focus. Perhaps that is why I put off returning a phone call to a significant friend until I have at least a half hour to really share one with another. Perhaps that is why I make scrapbooks after a visit with my grandchildren, pouring over the pictures of our time together and putting them in story form so we will both remember the moments.
In any case, to accomplish anything of worth we need to slow down and concentrate. Isn't that what creative persons do... an artist to paint, a writer to collect her thoughts, a musician to compose, a saint to pray...and yes even a mother or a grandmother to remember.
As the Simon and Garfunkel song goes..."Slow down, you move too fast...you want to make the moment last..." How will you style this fall so you remember and don't leave yourself out?