SYL Challenge Week 16 - Slow down and Focus

It's funny, I have always been proud of my ability to multi-task and I am damn good at it. I would look at seemingly less productive people and think, how good am I for getting all this stuff done and being so organised. I now realise how fucking stupid I have been. 

While I rush around doing a million things at once, make lists I cannot possible achieve and stress about getting everything done, others seem to slowly focus on one thing at a time and seem to have lots of self time.

So it is time for ME to slow down and focus as much as possible and i have a feeling this is not going to be easy for me. The challenge for this week is:

1. Set yourself up for success and identify only 2 or 3 important things you must  do each day

This week instead of writing big lists of things to do that I had no possible way of finishing, and in turn setting myself up to fail, I identified 2 or 3 simple things that needed to be each day done. 

For example, on Monday I decided there were two things that I wanted to get done on that day. I wanted to fold the Mt Everest clean washing pile in my lounge room, and I needed to pick up Emilie's winter pinafore up from the alterations place so she wouldn't freeze her little arse off the next day. 

Done and done. 

While I did heaps of other things that day, I focused on achieving these 2 simple things and I didn't over commit myself like I usually do. 

2. Build in breathing room to your day and plan some down time everyday!

This is the difficult one for me but I tried. Usually my down time is playing a move in Words With Friends while I am standing watching dinner cook, or when I finally flop in a chair at 9.30pm to watch Prisoner with Michael, punctuated with "Mum, I'm hungry" or Mum, my finger hurts".

On my day off Friday, instead of rushing around doing housework, I met a friend at Peninsula Hot Springs and we chatted, walked, lunched and floated around in mineral springs in the sunshine for 4 hours. 

It was a perfect. 

I wasn't distracted by my phone or children or thoughts of other things I needed to do. I arrived home relaxed and happy having dedicated time to myself and time with a friend. 

I will be doing things like that much more often!

3. Focus

Focusing on anything for long is difficult around my place. For example, I have a rare moment of Emilie free time to type up my weekly challenges but as I am typing, the house dwellers are busy coming and going, rustling things and munching loudly on corn chips behind me so I am already distracted. My brother is unpacking a stereo he just bought with money he doesn't have and the TV is being switched between the racing and the footy. 

Anyway, I lost focus there. This week I tried not to multi-task as much as possible. I made a big effort to focus on completing the task I was doing. More importantly I tried to focus on who I was with without distraction. 

I heard a saying once about treating the person you are with right now as the most important one. We all know how annoying it is when you are talking to someone who is playing with their phone at the same time. I have a friend who asks a question then immediately starts playing with her phone while you answer her. I am not that bad but I am trying to deliberately not have my phone in front of me when spending time with a friend. 

I tried to focus this week on the time I spent with Emilie. I tried hard to not get distracted or multitask while she was talking. She is so funny. I asked her this morning what she was watching on TV and she said "don't worry, it's appropriate". 

I am going to make this week's challenge my new personal mantra...

slow down and focus