Multitasking Happy Crap

Do you want to know one of the biggest crocks of the modern workplace? Multitasking. Why would anyone want to do a handful of things at once in a thorough half-assed fashion instead of doing one task correctly to termination or a logical stopping point and then moving on to the next task?

When I first started working from home while taking care of my son, I tried to multitask the living daylights out of my life. Any time my iPad would ding with mail, I’d spring up and examine the incoming message, no matter what I was doing—activities like feeding my son, putting him down to sleep, walking my dog, or trying to squeeze in a moment to read. I was working all of the time and trying to do everything necessary to take care of my child, wife, dog, home, and, once in a while, myself. I felt like I wasn’t taking good enough care of any of it. I just ended up feeling burnt out.

I realized that I needed to create some boundaries. First off, I silenced my electronic devices. When I was on kid-duty that is all I would do. I carved out (sometimes erratic) windows throughout my days and weeks to accomplish tasks like checking email, following up on potential interviewees, and writing. And Tuesday afternoons and all day Thursday, when Buck is at daycare, I need to really get to the old crankin’ and burnin’ on the work front.

So far, so good. Sure, when I’m on a tight deadline, all of these boundaries go right out the window. But I’m getting better at balancing my time during deadlines as well as in my day-to-day life. It’s a work in progress and it is always evolving. But at least I know better than trying to do that multitasking happy crap.

Roughing It Through Heatless Nights, Surviving Big-Butted Divorces

the sleep bag that saved the day(s and nights)

I keep talking about all these “firsts” that I enjoy seeing my son Buck experience. Well, this past weekend we certainly had an interesting first: first winter storm that knocked out the power and heat in our house.

The early, sopping-wet snowstorm that hit the Northeast on October 30 really did a number on my street and my property. The power went out early on and we spent the rest of Saturday afternoon and night listening to trees and large limbs snapping and crashing to the ground—and through the roof of my garage, which caused a falling roof beam to leave its imprint on the hood of my Subaru. Excluding those limbs, which need to stay in place until the insurance man pays a visit, I spent all of Sunday running the chainsaw and clearing the larger limbs from my driveway and yard. But enough about me…

While it did get rather chilly in my house during the two-and-a-half heatless days, and having a lights-out at sundown was duller than watching golf on TV, Buck toughed it out like a champ—much better than my wife did, I might add. Part of the reason Buck weathered it so well is because my wife had the foresight just the week before to get Buck a toasty Merino Kids wool sleep bag.

The chilly days and nights did offer some silver linings. Both my wife and I had a great excuse to get some extra cuddling time in with Buck. I liked to crawl under my warm down comforter with him napping while perched on my chest. With the astronomical growth rate he has been maintaining, I know the days of him fitting on my chest are numbered. So, even though the pain-in-the-butt caused by the storm still looms, mostly I am thankful for those stolen moments with my baby boy. Well I’m thankful for that and for avoiding Monday’s news cycle, which I’m sure was full of news about a certain big-rumped, talentless fame whore’s divorce.