I've been thinking about my screen time. Am I addicted to the screen? Facebook, email, sailing blogs? Despite the fact that I don't even have a smart phone, I easily log in 3 hours a day online. It seems like the minute I get a spare moment to myself I flip open my computer and check my email and Facebook. I leave a few comments in one of the groups I belong to, maybe I upload a photo, check the weather, scan the news headlines.
I love the internet for the social connection it gives me when I could otherwise live a rather isolated life, at home with the girls for many, many hours a day. I love the support it provides via a mom's Facebook group; I love the inspiration I get from a women sailors group; I love how sailing blogs feed my wanderlust; I love the connection I make and keep with friends and family that life far away.
Two years ago I gave up Facebook for Lent. And I was fine. Totally fine. I honestly don't know if I could do that again. I rely on it too much for technology-facilitated human interaction. (If that becomes a catchphrase I hereby trademark it!)
But I need to insert a little balance into my daily life. I've written about this before: Hans and I put the girls to bed and immediately get on our individual computers and start "looking things up." That inclination has lessened since the weather has gotten nicer. We've been sitting on the back deck more, talking about our upcoming trip south or weightier issues like urban poverty and economic mobility.
I need to be a little more mindful about my free time and how my time usage makes me feel immediately after the fact and several hours later. Was I productive? Did I relax? Am I reenergized to give more of myself to the girls?
Showing posts with label mindful Mondays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mindful Mondays. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Mindful Monday: multitasking
I used to wear heels every day - black, patent leather. I loved them. I wore pencil skirts and button down shirts. I rode the metro to work and did the crossword puzzle and listened to NPR en route. At the same time. When I got to work I checked my email and flipped through the stack of papers next to my computer. At the same time. I made phone calls and alphabetized my stack of filing. At the same time.
I was a multi-tasking master. Oh yeah. I felt competent and efficient. "Ability to multi-task" was a prominent bullet point on my resume.
Now I actively try not to multi-task. I've read about flow theory and that make sense to me. Ten years ago when my Spanish was pretty good, I would suddenly realize that I was having a conversation with someone in Spanish without trying to translate what they were saying or trying to figure out how to conjugate a verb. I was completely engrossed in the task at hand and, without knowing it, I was in flow. Flow theory demands a single-minded focus on one activity. Such focus can lead to joy, competence, and a high quality end-product.
Multi-tasking, on the other hand, is defined by dividing your energy and concentration to various tasks, at the same time. Three jobs are done at once; productivity is high; quantity is high. But what about quality? If I'm trying to make muffins and feed my 12-month-old at the same time, it only seems inevitable that I'll leave out the leavening or use salt instead of sugar. Sure, I can make muffins and feed a baby at once, but would those muffins be edible? Multi-tasking emphasizes quantity over quality, while flow encourages the opposite.
I would love to experience flow on a daily basis, but it's nearly impossible when I am taking care of two young children. I'm always being pulled from one direction to the next. If, by some miracle, they are both happily playing without me, I rarely get involved in my own project because I know the tranquility will only last for a few minutes.
Multi-taskers are able to produce a lot by the end of the day, yet the final product may be shoddy, lacking in creativity, or riddled with mistakes. Yet flow may be hard, if not impossible, to achieve in a typical work environment because of external demands: the phone, email, coworkers. Is there a middle ground? I think so. I think it's possible to strive to create a daily environment that is more conducive to flow.
The next time you're doing three different things, stop. Stop doing one thing, finish the two you were working on and then complete the third. Instead of making a phone call to a relative and doing something else at the same time, sit down and simply talk on the phone. Wash dishes in silence. Watch TV and do nothing else. (No knitting, no checking email, no folding laundry. Eating chocolate is okay.) Do one job at a time at work. Less emphasis on multi-tasking can lead to higher quality work and a more peaceful, less stressful work environment. It's worth a try.
I was a multi-tasking master. Oh yeah. I felt competent and efficient. "Ability to multi-task" was a prominent bullet point on my resume.
Now I actively try not to multi-task. I've read about flow theory and that make sense to me. Ten years ago when my Spanish was pretty good, I would suddenly realize that I was having a conversation with someone in Spanish without trying to translate what they were saying or trying to figure out how to conjugate a verb. I was completely engrossed in the task at hand and, without knowing it, I was in flow. Flow theory demands a single-minded focus on one activity. Such focus can lead to joy, competence, and a high quality end-product.
Multi-tasking, on the other hand, is defined by dividing your energy and concentration to various tasks, at the same time. Three jobs are done at once; productivity is high; quantity is high. But what about quality? If I'm trying to make muffins and feed my 12-month-old at the same time, it only seems inevitable that I'll leave out the leavening or use salt instead of sugar. Sure, I can make muffins and feed a baby at once, but would those muffins be edible? Multi-tasking emphasizes quantity over quality, while flow encourages the opposite.
 |
| Illustration credit: attentiontoliving.wordpress.com |
Multi-taskers are able to produce a lot by the end of the day, yet the final product may be shoddy, lacking in creativity, or riddled with mistakes. Yet flow may be hard, if not impossible, to achieve in a typical work environment because of external demands: the phone, email, coworkers. Is there a middle ground? I think so. I think it's possible to strive to create a daily environment that is more conducive to flow.
The next time you're doing three different things, stop. Stop doing one thing, finish the two you were working on and then complete the third. Instead of making a phone call to a relative and doing something else at the same time, sit down and simply talk on the phone. Wash dishes in silence. Watch TV and do nothing else. (No knitting, no checking email, no folding laundry. Eating chocolate is okay.) Do one job at a time at work. Less emphasis on multi-tasking can lead to higher quality work and a more peaceful, less stressful work environment. It's worth a try.
 |
| Children don't know how to multi-task: Freja exhibiting intense concentration as she learns to use scissors. |
Monday, March 31, 2014
Mindful Monday
I feel my stress in my shoulders and in my jaw. I don't notice that it's happening, but gradually, so gradually, my jaw clenches and my shoulders start defying gravity and hunch up toward my ears. I stop, take a breath, and relax my jaw and let my shoulders drop.
The first few weeks of March were busy and stressful. In addition to the winter that just wouldn't quit, we celebrated two birthdays, buzzed around with the anticipation of match day, and then there was the opening of the envelope itself; I had a lot on my plate.* But I didn't realize it. I was snappy with the girls, I spent way too much time on the internet, I bemoaned anything and everything. When I yelled at Freja or groaned when Matilda wouldn't let me put her down - and then instantly felt guilty for not trying a little harder - I reassured myself that my job is hard and not always fun. I can't keep smiling all the time. All this is true. Yet....man I was grumpy.
Last Monday was such a relief. I laughed out loud when Matilda knocked over Freja's snack, spilling Kix (sans milk) all over the carpet and causing both girls to start screaming as if the end of the world was nigh. I put the music on and danced with Matilda when she was fussy and needed holding. Hey, this feels more normal. Our loose ends are tied up. We have a plan for the future (at least the next three years). I can relax again.
I wish, however, that I had been able to stop for a minute and give myself a break. I wish I had spent a few minutes to reflect on what was causing my angst. Sure, the stress would have still been there, but at least I would have acknowledged it and, perhaps, been a bit better equipped to deal with the fallout.
I've made a commitment to be more mindful. I'm starting with checking in with myself throughout the day. Literally. I check my shoulders. I check my jaw. I breathe. I relax. I continue. Back to regularly scheduled programming, but hopefully with a little more ease.
Where do you store your stress? Do you have a physical trigger point(s)? Is your sleep affected? Your dreams?
*I really, really, really hope I'm not jinxing us by putting winter in the past tense.
The first few weeks of March were busy and stressful. In addition to the winter that just wouldn't quit, we celebrated two birthdays, buzzed around with the anticipation of match day, and then there was the opening of the envelope itself; I had a lot on my plate.* But I didn't realize it. I was snappy with the girls, I spent way too much time on the internet, I bemoaned anything and everything. When I yelled at Freja or groaned when Matilda wouldn't let me put her down - and then instantly felt guilty for not trying a little harder - I reassured myself that my job is hard and not always fun. I can't keep smiling all the time. All this is true. Yet....man I was grumpy.
Last Monday was such a relief. I laughed out loud when Matilda knocked over Freja's snack, spilling Kix (sans milk) all over the carpet and causing both girls to start screaming as if the end of the world was nigh. I put the music on and danced with Matilda when she was fussy and needed holding. Hey, this feels more normal. Our loose ends are tied up. We have a plan for the future (at least the next three years). I can relax again.
I wish, however, that I had been able to stop for a minute and give myself a break. I wish I had spent a few minutes to reflect on what was causing my angst. Sure, the stress would have still been there, but at least I would have acknowledged it and, perhaps, been a bit better equipped to deal with the fallout.
I've made a commitment to be more mindful. I'm starting with checking in with myself throughout the day. Literally. I check my shoulders. I check my jaw. I breathe. I relax. I continue. Back to regularly scheduled programming, but hopefully with a little more ease.
Where do you store your stress? Do you have a physical trigger point(s)? Is your sleep affected? Your dreams?
*I really, really, really hope I'm not jinxing us by putting winter in the past tense.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)