Stress Management - Rethinking The Multi-tasking Time Crunch Stress
By Ilenya Marrin
Stress has a funny way of announcing itself.
Up until now, I usually would get the word that I am overly multi-tasking when my husband says in his deepest voice, “Honey, just stop!” He’s aware of my rising stress level long before I am!
The other way I eventually catch on is that I start breaking things or injuring myself — paper cuts, kitchen cuts, bumps and bruises, sprains. Owch.
In my case, trying to cram lots of activity into a finite amount of time creates a pervasive level of stress that I am just now learning to acknowledge on my own.
I know I am not alone, as several female colleagues have confided similar stories. But how can we get it all done if we don’t juggle several things at once? Kids, food, husbands, pets, schedules, phone calls, shopping lists, laundry, cleaning, all scream, “Me, now!”
Ah, it’s so much fun to be an expert and still learning all the time!
One of my latest bits of awareness is that a single minute — sixty seconds — can be extremely productive. IF I focus on doing one thing. For starters, while waiting one minute for the microwave, I can put away all the dried dishes on the counter, pull all the clothes from the dryer and pile them on the breakfast table for folding, or gather and wash three cat food dishes.
Is it stressful multi-tasking or wise use of time to put that microwave minute to use in my kitchen?
On the other hand, I can be on speaker phone with my mom in Texas, steaming broccoli, washing dishes and deciding what else is needed to set the table. The dryer blats notice that another load is dry. My cell phone rings — it’s someone from the office and I remember she wants to know if I’m attending her meeting tomorrow. Three cats and two greyhounds prowl at my feet reminding me they want to eat too. You all recognize the scene and probably also have two or three kids edging in and out with their needs at the same time.
Taken singly, none of these activities is especially stressful.
But my attention is scattered in at least seven directions. My mind is on overload. While I might squeak through without dropping something, I am in danger of small mishaps, which will further increase my stress level.
This is indeed a stressful event unfolding!
When we have similar scenarios multiple times a day, week in and week out, our stress burden increases dramatically.
What’s the solution?
Much as I have resisted it over the years, my husband’s refrain, “Just stop,” is quite helpful. Put down the kitchen tools. Turn off the stove. Turn off the dryer and leave the clothes in it. Let the cell phone take a message. Sit down and pay loving attention to my mother, because we both deserve this. When I finish the conversation with her, just sit for a minute more. Collect myself. Say a word of prayer or affirmation. Be still. Breathe. Drop my shoulders and relax my jaw.
Now, how can I avoid piling on the multiple tasks in a time crunch tomorrow?
This is going to take practice. I need to create a conscious intention to slow down and handle one thing well in each moment. I need to get it firmly in my mind that this is what I want. Obviously I need reminders.
There. I just posted three little sticky notes around the kitchen at eye level, “Do one thing,” “Just one thing, Dear!” and “One thing at a time, Sweetheart!”
The next step is to be patient and actually only do one or two things at a time — not several. Steaming broccoli and washing up a few dishes is probably an okay combination. (I’m not going to be too much of a purist about this!) But if the phone rings, I need to walk away from those tasks — or let the machine take the call.
It will mean moving more slowly and deliberately, focusing on one thing to completion. It goes against how I’ve managed my life for over thirty years. I’ll have to stay really conscious and aware of my activity level to make these changes.
But I think I am ready to take this next step in de-stressing my life.
Would you care to join me?
I’ll publish a follow up article in about three months to let you know how I am doing with this strategy.
Meanwhile, for proven, compassionate stress reduction tips, I invite you to sign up for my free newsletter, 17 Simple Stress Solutions, at http://www.powerofpersonalpeace.com/optin.htm Check out my articles on success, less stress, and write in with your stress questions to be answered on my Ask Dr. Ilenya advice column at my blog, http://lovingyoursuccess.blogspot.com
Dr. Ilenya Marrin is a spiritual counselor, inspirational speaker and author of ebooks The Power of Personal Peace: Reducing Stress by Loving Yourself from the Inside Out and 77 Loving Steps for Success.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ilenya_Marrin
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