Multitasking

I multitask constantly, mostly when I watch TV. Back when I was a kid, and even a young adult, I could sit and stare at the TV for hours, mesmerized by the activity on the screen. Now that I’m older, I have a very hard time doing nothing else while the TV is on. I find that my mind begins to wander.

Don’t get me wrong about how I’m spending my time. I’m not solving the world’s hunger crisis or trying to win a Nobel Peace Prize. My activities are not nearly that impressive. Sometimes I fold laundry or work in my puzzle books, and I often play Candy Crush. As long as I’m doing something to break up the monotony, I’m happy.

I’m the same way when it comes to housework. I find it fairly boring to only focus on one chore at a time and prefer to break it up with other tasks. I might vacuum two rooms but stop when the cord no longer reaches. Then I’ll go off and clean the stovetop before coming back to plug the vacuum into an outlet in another room and finish the rest of the house. I often spray cleaner on the shower walls and then go start a load of laundry before coming back to scrub the walls. And if something catches my eye on my way back to the bathroom, say a dusty tabletop that needs wiping, then I’ll stop and do that first.

My husband is the exact opposite. When he decides to work on a project, he starts at the beginning and works straight through until it’s finished. He doesn’t get distracted by anything and stops for nothing.

When we were first married, we thought it was cute to do everything together, including cleaning, but more often than not, we’d spend less time scrubbing the floors and more time arguing over whose cleaning style was better.

Over time, we learned to split up the chores and rarely do them together. It works much better that way. He can focus on one chore at a time, while I flit around like a butterfly in a flower garden. As long as everyone gets their chores done, it doesn’t matter how we do them.

Comments

[Jean Rabe]

That is sooooooooooooo me. Like you, I don't think I could ever do "just one thing." Good to know I'm not alone!

[Michael A. Black]

Interesting dichotomy between the methodologies of you and your husband. I guess it just goes to show there's more than one way to get the job(s) done.