Good morning. I hope you are doing well on this beautiful fall morning. Our temps were in the 40s this morning so it definitely feels like autumn. Wrapping up in a cozy blanket with a cup of tea sounds ideal on a morning like this.
On Thursdays (or every other Thursday) I share a newsletter. It’s brief in nature but speaks from the heart. I also might share a podcast that resonated, a book I enjoyed, a recipe that we loved, and words of wisdom. We have a growing community and I really love being off of social media for it. It feels slower and more intimate . . . definitely what I am craving more of lately.
This past week I shared about multi-tasking and received so many messages with thoughtful responses. I really love having these heartfelt conversations with you. It stuck a chord so I thought it would be nice to share it here.
GAME CHANGER
After my dad passed away, we placed my mom in a memory care home. I really struggled during that time and chose to see a therapist. He was a warm and genuine soul and something he said made a lasting impression. It came up in conversation that I had a habit of multi-tasking. And truth be told, I used to wear that trait like a badge of honor. I just thought it was part of our womanly superpowers. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Courtney, that is more of a disorder than it is a superpower. God doesn’t want you multi-tasking.” Ouch. What?
He went on to explain that we strip ourselves of both joy and peace when we multi-task. Furthermore, we short change anyone we are with. You better believe I had to marinade on that one for a while. The more I internalized what he said, the more I agreed whole heartedly. He asked me to try something for a week. If I was making dinner . . . I was making dinner. If I was watching a volleyball game, I was watching a volleyball game. I was to focus solely on that and not trying to fit in other tasks or stress over what I needed to do next. It was life changing.
I share because I have fallen out of practice and have slipped right back into my old habit. The world seems so chaotic right now and I find myself matching that chaos; multi-tasking and constantly thinking about what I need to do next. Just recently, his wise words came flooding back to me. And it felt like a gift. Just this morning when I was getting my walk in, I made a concerted effort to simply enjoy the walk. I appreciated nature and I prayed. I didn’t fixate on how much I needed to accomplish or worry about fixing the world’s problems. I am all for a to-do list and still do that. But I choose one thing at a time and ignore the rest. There is an immediate peace that settles in when you do that. It’s challenging for those of us who gravitate towards the opposite. For me, it’s a continuous practice but one that yields a far better life.
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If you missed the Monday Morning Wrap Up this week, I shared an easy salad dressing recipe and my secret to rewinding the clock on your hands.
Love this, Courtney. Thank you for this share today. I sure needed to hear this message, and I know I am not alone.
You are so welcome. It’s a struggle for me to stay in this practice. . .but makes such a huge difference.
Wow!! I’m so glad you shared this on this post. I really resonate with the multi-tasking. Thanks so much for sharing!
Something tells me there are a lot of us 😉
Courtney, thank you for sharing that nugget of wisdom. I also wear the “multitasking badge of honor, “ to the point I’m physically suffering with some health issues. Another area I wore a badge of honor, 65 yrs of age and on no prescription medication!! However now, I too am going to make a concerted effort to take your therapist advice. If you really think about it, it makes perfect common sense. Thank you again and I pray God continues to bless your life and your business so that you can continue to bless others.
So happy to share. And I am so impressed . . . 65 years without medication is incredible. Thank you for this kind response and your well wishes. Means more than you know. I pray you can turn the physical issues around very quickly. I really do think so much is tied to our nervous system and how we process things. Have a really great day.
Agree wholeheartedly with you! When I multitask, no task is getting my best effort. I’m okay with the idea that occasionally that’s fine. That something is better than nothing if that’s truly the case. But really, it just means that we probably need to be better at saying no or prioritizing. I will say that in cases where I’m listening more than participating (certain work meetings/calls) I do find that I can listen better if my body has a mindless task like watering plants or folding laundry. If I try to just sit and listen to the meeting I find it’s a lot harder to keep my mind from wandering. It’s much easier if I have something that doesn’t really require brain capacity to occupy my body.
I agree on the occasional situation, too. Sometimes we have no choice, right? And I find that so interesting about the calls and doing a mindless task. I tend to doodle and that is probably why. Thank you for sharing.
Aaah, women and our multi tasking. To go along with this I recently read a paragraph about taking pictures during events/gatherings. It talked about getting more out of the program, game, people, if we are fully engaged and put the camera away, as opposed to looking at the pictures after the fact. I’m not a huge picture taker but I have found at my parties when I don’t even know where my phone is that I’ve enjoyed my guest thoroughly. Thanks for enlightening us to enjoy each moment of each day, they go by so quickly.
It has made me “STOP” and “THINK”. very well said.
Raising hand, head bowed…me too. I love the comment about putting the phone (camera) away during gatherings.
I used to be a multi tasker but I realized it just made me feel stressed more than anything. Now, I say no when I feel like I do not have the bandwith or ask for help when I needed. After spending the better part of 2024 tending to my brother who suffered two strokes, heart attack, and passed away from failure to thrive. After going thru all of that, I learned to just live in the moment, step away when I needed it, disconnect when I need to, and only do what I truly feel is worthy of my time.
Oh this is a constant area of struggle for me. I just only have so many hours in the day, and never seem to be able to fit it all in. *sigh* Thanks for the reminder of what I should be doing. Not everything on the to-do list is meant to get done every single day.