Attention Deficit Distractedness and Multi-tasking is How I Function Best

I am the first to admit that I have some form of attention deficit.  I am easily distracted.  I know I will finish this post today, but right now I need to throw in a load of laundry and my dog wants to be let outside ....  And then I saw someone had left dishes on the counter so I loaded the dishwasher ....

And finally, I am back at my computer.  That is how I function.  And in a world that praises multi-tasking while also saying to focus and complete your task, I struggle with my preferred working style.  

The fact is that my "preferred working style" is to have the house to myself, preferably for a weekend.  If my husband decides to go out to the cabin and fish for a couple of days, I am actually excited about having the house to myself and getting some projects started .... and a few finished.  My work-style of working on several tasks simultaneously resonates with my cousins and sister, so it is at the very least a family trait I guess.  When my sons and husband are underfoot, I find it difficult to get going on projects so I procrastinate.  Painting?  Re-arranging pictures?  Even dusting -- since I like to re-arrange my bric a brac when I clean -- is a task I prefer doing when I have the house to myself.

I think those of us who work best when we are free to start jobs and flit from one to the other, as the notion strikes us, should stand up and be proud of our work-style.  It is valid.  Sure, after an afternoon of stripping down the curtains to wash (but leaving them waiting on the floor), setting up the sewing machine with a basket of hemming beside it, pulling out the vacuum (but not vacuuming) and dumping out the under-the-kitchen-sink cupboard and washing it out (but not putting the contents back) .... sure, it looks bad at the end of that afternoon.  But give me a full uninterrupted weekend, and those tasks get finished, and I am amazed at how much I can do when I have the house to myself.

I know that this is almost impossible to achieve when you have little ones underfoot.  I had 3 pre-schoolers in my home once upon a time.  And while they certainly create much extra work, I never found they disrupted my working pattern.  They adjusted to it.  If mommy told them they had to stay out of the living room because I was re-arranging furniture or not to use the main bathroom because I was re-arranging the medicine and linen cabinets, then they went along with the restrictions.  It doesn't work as well with somewhat judgement adults hanging around while I try to clean.  

I even find it difficult to set up a sewing project. It requires getting out the cutting board, sewing machine, iron, ironing board, and various notions.  I like to use the dining room table to do the cutting.  I also like to leave everything set up for a few days because I fit in the sewing in-between other tasks .... like maybe someone posts a chocolate cake video and I want to run to the store, buy ingredients, find the right baking pan, make the cake, ice it ... oh, wait.  I'm still back at the store, deciding if I need to buy canning supplies or if I should hit up some garage sales on the way home.

My doctor offered to refer me to a specialist after a check-list of indicators shown I might be a candidate for an official label of ADHD.  I didn't follow through with seeing a specialist.  I don't really want a label on my medical file.  I like my working style, when I can embrace it without judgement or interference from "others".   If a friend or self-proclaimed efficiency expert were to follow me around to supervise and "correct" my multi tasks at a time behaviour, I would be stressed at not being able to respond to the distractions as they occur. Trying to conform to "one task at a time" work-styles is not for me!

Nonetheless, I am at a cross-roads where I need to accomplish a LOT of organizing and cleaning in a short time frame.  Stay tuned and you will learn if I am able to accomplish it all!

I am always interested in strategies for organizing and cleaning.  What works for you?


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