Not Multitasking

So I was reading a blog about a mom who was talking about making her bed every day. She then mentioned that if she does an hour of cleaning everyday she feels better about her house and it's easier to get other things done. I wondered does she include making her bed in that hour of cleaning everyday? Then I thought about my routine and my to do list and wondered, what if I do all those little tasks in one chunk of time? Like making my bed, getting the laundry started or folded, unloading the dishwasher, doing a deep cleaning chore once a day, doing random straightening, working on my piles, doing finances, etc etc. With a new baby I was a little worried about feeling frazzled because when that baby cries, I gotta stop whatever I'm doing to figure out what he needs. Even without a baby I would often feel frazzled. Usually in the morning I would get up, get the kids up, go make my bed, go eat breakfast, do some dishes, make lunches, get laundry started, do my workout, get ready a little, do some odd job, get ready some more, do some more dishes, and by then feel like I needed some me time, but never quite done with the jobs on my to do list. When the kids got home from school I wouldn't quite be able to give my full attention because there was always that unfinished to do list. =frazzled.

I read this article on multitasking: http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/costs-of-multitasking.htm and found this statement interesting:

[Multitasking] can mean performing two or more tasks simultaneously, or it can also involve switching back and forth from one thing to another. 

I knew the first part of the definition but didn't really think of the second part as multitasking before, but it makes sense. The article is mostly about how we are more efficient when we don't multitask. Interesting read.

So I recently decided to try out doing the one hour of cleaning thing. I was so amazed at not only how easy it was to get my to do list done, but at how peaceful I feel. Sometimes I have to remind myself to not multitask, because I'm so used to it. I'm used to that feeling of "I'm getting so much more done because I'm doing 3 things at once." But I am figuring out that if I focus on one thing at a time, I'm more likely more efficient but the unexpected result is that I'm also more at peace.

Now I'm not going too many places during the day yet because the baby keeps me so busy and I'm still adjusting to life with a newborn, and I have plenty of places to go once the kids get home from school, but when the kids do get home I feel much more present. I don't feel so mentally and physically exhausted. I feel like I can give more of myself to them because I feel more at peace with myself. It's seems so simple but it is also amazing to me!