I felt so defeated. Tasks and to-do lists stacked. The harder I worked, the behind-er I got. I wanted to quit. Doing nothing would produce the same results with much less stress. Why not give up?
That’s when I tweeted, (Twitter: @RobinBryce) “ NOT liking my busy, distracted, get-nothing-accomplished lifestyle. Please, can I have only one thing to do & permission to forget all else?”
The oversimplified spiritual response, “Love Jesus and that’s all you need to do” doesn’t help. It doesn’t get the laundry done, the Holiday efforts accomplished, my ministry tasks finalized or the family’s needs met. I need more than love for Jesus to do all the things calling for my attention.
I saved the world’s chocolate by taking my desperation to God. Sitting with my Bible and journal, I had a little talk. I mentioned my troubles and feelings then listened for God’s response. I asked him to show me one task to start with. Just one (hoping I could do one thing right).
Looking up from my Bible and at the tasks, I took my husband’s advice and organized my time to work on one job for 15 minutes. Amazingly, I got something done. It felt good.
I tweeted again. “Multitasking is overrated. Doing one thing well is better than many things half-hearted. ”
Others share my struggle with productivity. The Google search “Multitasking is overrated” found a study by Stanford University that reveals why doing more than one thing reduces productivity. The study shows a disturbing trend in our culture and defines my problem. They “found multitaskers are more easily distracted and less able to ignore irrelevant information than people who do less multitasking.” For more results read Boston.com article Maybe Multitasking is Overrated. I’m not the only one living from one distraction to another.
I felt better knowing why I was ineffective and how to correct the problem. I began asking for God’s help to focus on the job at hand and to organize my time, allotting segments for each task. It’s working so far.
How do you deal with the pressure of your busy lifestyle? Comment below.
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(Images courtesy of sxc.hu)
Hey Robin! Remember me from TestimonyProject.com? Although I get the point of your post (great job!), I wanted to share that I use a free tool called TeuxDeux.com that has made a huge difference in my ability to get it done. Here’s a link to my video of how to use it.
May God Bless You Beyond Your Wildest Imagination!
Lezlie
Hi Lezlie.
Thanks for the TeuxDuex.com tip. I’m open to trying lots of new things to be productive and I’m convinced the readers are thankful too. Thanks also for the blessing. I’ve got a pretty wild imagination.
May God double the blessing upon you.
Robin
So THAT’s my problem!!! Thanks for letting me know.
I’ve got to change my way of doing things!